tl20021114-000 "The ToLuDivii,,ghb Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com Thursday, 11/14/02 Third party has voice with CLT 5 Group plans next Dance Marathon 7 Poe chronicled in avant-garde book 11 'Potter' charms children, adults 16 Departments News 5 Nation/Blotter 8 Arts 11 In A Theater Near You 16 Sports 24 Punt, Pass & Pick 22 In This Corner 24 Classifieds 17 Opinion 2 TU's 'Sisters' poses questions Dave Richardson The Towerhght Jes Wiedel (left), who plays Irina in the TU production of Anton Chekov's classic ""Three Sisters,"" is joined by fellow cast members Kim Johnson and Bill Yarbrough while rehearsing for the play this week. The preview is this evening, with performances Nov. 15 through 17 and 20 through 23. Play asks, `How do our decisions influence our lives?'; Contest calls for students' answers Jignya Sheth The Towerlight Cast members of the theater department's production of Anton Chekov's classic ""Three Sisters,"" directed by Diane Sadak-Smith, say the play will speak to many college students. ""The themes of the play are extremely relevant to students because it deals with dreams, love, life goals and relationships,"" said Grail Schroeder, a sophomore the-ater major. First performed in 1901, the play focuses on the titular Prozorov sis-ters, Olga, Masha and Irina, and their brother Andrei, who drag through a dull existence in a provin-cial town in pre-revolutionary Russia. ""The play is set in a different time and place than ours, but its themes are still relevant to people today,"" said senior theater major Kim Johnson, who plays the eldest sis-ter, Olga. ""It's about people working toward their dreams and how they deal with life's let downs."" Olga is a high school teacher who wants to get married; Masha wants to be free from her unhappy mar-riage and seek excitement; Irina wants to move to Moscow; and Andrei has dreams of becoming a university professor. The only diver-sion afforded to the siblings is the military officers from a nearby garri-son who loiter in their house. ""Everybody who was cast in the show has brought with them their own pieces of life, which has helped to color the lives of Chekov's char-acters,"" said senior theater major Nicole Zook, who plays Masha. ""Diane's directing process has helped us to meld our world with the characters, and she has helped us bring to life the names on the page."" Chekov, who wrote the play in the last years of his life, wanted to tack-le ""the nature of time and imperma-nence,"" said Sadak-Smith, an asso-ciate theater instructor who has directed three previous TU produc-tions. When choosing an angle from which to approach the play during pre-production, Sadak-Smith envi-sioned it ""as a moving painting or a score."" The sets are massive and the fur-niture is out of scale in order to metaphorically represent the oppressive environment in which the Prozorov family lives. ""The sisters think that the town and their lives are trapping them,"" Sadak-Smith said. What the siblings don't realize is their attitudes and complacency are merely feeding the fire of their dis-content. Working in tandem with the director is stage manager Tammy Enright, a sophomore theater major. ""I get a very unique perspective of the production, seeing the acting, directing, designers and technical crew,"" Enright said. ""Everyone has put so much work into this play, bringing every moment to its fullest. See SISTERS, page 14 Today High 55 Low 40 Friday High 57 Low 38 Saturday High 41 Low 32 Sunday High 43 Low 32 70-i7;t7 Monday High 47 Low 33 "