Theatre department hosts variety of spring performances

Seward, NE (03/26/2026) — Concordia University, Nebraska's theatre department will present a wide range of performances during the spring semester, including a full-length feature production, a one-act play festival, a variety of improv shows and more.

This semester's mainstage is "Wit" by Margaret Edson. The show is centered around English professor Vivian Bearer who is diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer and agrees to undergo experiential treatment. The work follows her journey through that process with medical staff who showcase varying degrees of care and consideration of her both as a human being and as research for their scientific study. It also follows her personal journey as she learns that it is okay for her to feel and express emotion, which is something she has avoided for most of her life because she has been so caught up in work that doesn't ask her to feel, only to observe.

Director and Professor of Communication and Theatre Arts Bryan Moore said, "It's a heavy show, but I felt that it was important to look at these stories that talk about how we should treat each other in moments like this, as well as how we should care for ourselves and to allow ourselves to feel and to reflect while we can."

The work is Edson's first and only work, and it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1999. The show will be presented in the Black Box Theatre in the Borland Center for Music and Theatre from March 27-29. Showtimes are 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Senior Andrew Ring is William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" as his senior capstone project. The show will be performed April 22 - April 25 in the quad in front of the "Son of Man Be Free" statue. Performances will start at 5 p.m.

Ring is directing the show, building the stage, working with costumes and dealing with the literature.

"I am incorporating everything that is taught here - basic acting, basic character, etc. into my capstone. It's kind of like figuring it all out and applying everything that I know," he said.

Ring chose a Shakespeare play because he has been working with his works since middle school and loves it.

"'Much Ado About Nothing' is such a timeless classic," he said. "If you've seen 'The Parent Trap,' it's a very close representation where two former lovers who kind of hate each other now are thrown into these scenarios where they fall in love again. They are fun characters that really let the actors have so much fun with them and go in directions that they wouldn't get to go in other shows."

The One-Act Play Festival will take place from Thursday, April 16 through Saturday, April 18 in the Borland Black Box Theatre.

Director of "First Impressions" Sara Erikson said, "As a participant in the last three One-Act Play Festivals here at Concordia, I am thrilled by the opportunity to be directing my first one act play. My favorite part of the One-Act Festival is working with people who have never been involved in theatre before or have little previous experience in theatre. I love being able to work alongside them and expand their horizons while they also offer me opportunities to learn from them."

The IMPROVables held their annual 24-hour IMPROVathon in Janzow Campus Center on Friday, February 23. They will continue to meet throughout the spring on Tuesday and Thursday nights 8:30 - 10 p.m. Rehearsals are open to the public to observe or to join. The IMPROVables final spring performance will be the annual long-form show on May 1. The long-form show is a 45-minute improv game, where the cast must improvise a continuous story line with various scenes until the timer runs out and the scene comes to an end.

"I am so incredibly excited for the long-form show," said IMPROVable member Jason Church. "The long form practices we do leading up to it are so much fun. It's probably my favorite time to be in improv."

Student Involvement

Wit

Vivian Bearing: Mary Pieper, Algonquin, Illinois

Dr. Kelekian: Duncan Carrasco, Sidney, Nebraska

Jason Posner: Aydan Toth, Surprise, Arizona

Susie Monahan: Mackenzie Schepmann, Macomb, Michigan

E.M. Ashford: Sarah Stepp, Lincoln, Nebraska

Mr. Bearing: Duncan Carrasco

Ensemble: Delaney Baker, Lincoln, Nebraska; Emily Hunt, Gig Harbor, Washington; Madeline Kearns, St. Charles, Missouri; Paige Schuster, Gervais, Oregon; Kristen Welling, Atkinson, Nebraska; Mi-Ree Zwick, Minden, Nebraska

Director: Prof. Bryan Moore

Assistant Director: Claire Horacek, Papillion, Nebraska

Stage Manager: Abigail Braun, Ypsilanti, Michigan

Scenery: Natasha Tupper (designer, staff), Andrew Ring (crew), Bismarck, North Dakota

Costume: Becky Snyder (staff), Claire Horacek, Mary Pieper, Paige Schuster

Lighting: Emma Fiala, Herculaneum, Missouri; Vaclav Fiala, Herculaneum, Missouri

Sound: Daniel Ascher, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Much Ado About Nothing

Don Pedro: Cayden Carrasco, Sidney, Nebraska

Don John: Mason Lockwood, Palmer, Nebraska

Claudio: Jason Church, Auburn, Washington

Benedick: Joshua Nikodym, Grand Island, Nebraska

Leonata: Catherine Vyhlidal, Morse Bluff, Nebraska

Hero: Aubrey Burmeister, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Beatrice: Claire Horacek

Margaret/Sexton: Marieka Kaufman, Milwaukie, Oregon

Ursula/First Watchman: Andrea Dugan, Omaha, Nebraska

Borachio: Nathan Sievert, Norfolk, Nebraska

Conrade/Friar Francis: Sam Olson, Overland Park, Kansas

Messenger/Seacoal: Meadow Burk, Parker, Texas

Dogberry: Morgan Davis, Andover, Kansas

Verges: Duncan Carrasco

Director: Andrew Ring

Tech: Joshua Hendrickson '20, Daniel Ascher

One-Act Play Festival

First Impressions

Jessica: Aubrey Burmeister

Jason: Josiah Edwards, Elk Grove, California

Sam: Cayden Carrasco

Director: Sara Erickson, Omaha, Nebraska

Assistant Director: Cayden Carrasco

Revoting Characters

Tamara: Meadow Burk

Jill: Michal Black, Amarillo, Texas

Dexter: Nathan Sievert

Jeeves: Aaron Spivey, Smithfield, Virginia

Hunter: Sam Olson

Director: Olivia Pyle, Blaine, Minnesota

Assistant Director: Evan Moloney, Fort Wayne, Indiana

A Murdered Mystery

John: Jack Hagan, St. Charles, Missouri

Steve: Aiden Jenik, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Jennifer: Rebecca Duerr, Joplin, Missouri

Lydia: Emma Wakley, Milton, New York

Betty: Michal Black

Preston: Andrew Brosius, North Platte, Nebraska

Director: Sarah Stepp

Fourteen Fourteenths

Sam: Mi-Ree Zwick

Kai: David Rodriguez

Director: Claire Horacek

Sherlock Homes Hates You

Holmes: Andrew Brosius

Dr. Watson: Sam Olson

Rebecca: April Abbett, Platte City, Missouri

Lady Benson: Madeline Kearns

Director: Joshua Nikodym

Assistant Director: Mary Pieper

The Statue in the Light

Finneas: Morgan Davis

Melvin: Nathan Sollberger, Louisville, Nebraska

Brielle: Kristen Welling

Mr. Thompson: Mason Lockwood

Adelaide: Mary Pieper

Ensemble: Kerria Wright, Madison, Nebraska; David Rodriguez, Norfolk, Nebraska; Paige Schuster, Onyx Stone, Aurora, Colorado; Aydan Toth

Director: Marieka Kaufman

IMPROVables

Jason Church

Claire Horacek

Sarah Stepp

Marieka Kaufman

Mason Lockwood

Aydan Toth

Joshua Nikodym

David Rodriguez

Ellen Klintworth, Seward, Nebraska

Onyx Stone

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