The San Jacinto College Central Campus Department of Theatre and Film is presenting “The Kentucky Cycle: Tall Tales and Fire in the Hole,” a story by Robert Schenkkan, winner of 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It is being directed by Donna Taylor, a professor of theatre and film in San Jacinto Central Campus. This will be presented in Powell Arena Theatre from April 16 to 18, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. An additional Sunday Matinee will be shown on April 19, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. Tickets at the door will cost $10 for general admission, while it is discounted to $8 when purchased and picked up on April 15, 2025.
“What the audience can realize from this production is the oppressive nature of exploitative industries and the uniting hope of the people,” says Donna Taylor, the director of this play and a professor of theatre and film.
This production that is being shown is a story originally made by Robert Schenkkan, where it presents the chaotic history of Kentucky but only presents two parts out of the original play. The first part, “Tall Tales,” presents the story of Jed Rowen and his greed, as his daughter saves a smooth-talking man named J.T. Wells. Despite warnings of the true nature of Wells, the deed is settled into the mining company’s hands and takes control of the Rowen family’s land. Next, the second part, “Fire in the Hole,” is shown to be the story of many years later, Mary Anne Rowen, the daughter of Jed Rowen from the previous story, who refuses to send her last son to the underground. She decides to unionize against the oppressive conditions that the company forced upon them. When the union organizer Abe Steinman is killed, Mary Anne takes on as a leader for the union to receive justice. This is a chaotic story about betrayal, manipulation, and hope.
“Students and people outside of the campus were encouraged to participate for auditioning,” says Taylor, “My goal for this production is to deliver the compelling story with an excellent performance that the audience will enjoy.”
For this production, people who were not enrolled in classes could participate in auditioning to play a part! All the roles were available to audition for, and it was open for the public to enjoy. Since the production was also a two-parter, the auditioning cast would also be asked to do both plays. It creates an interesting role to join and demonstrates a long and hardworking role to take on. This takes time and effort to reach the goal for a fantastic production and pushes the cast to greatly improve themselves during rehearsals. Then, once the day comes, the finalized production is ready to be presented to the public.
“Rehearsals come with its challenges” says Taylor, “Understanding and improving with practice can go a long way.”
There are often struggles when it comes to rehearsing for a play at first, but after tons of practice and achievement, it becomes second nature to finally present the final production. The director’s job is a highly important role, where they must ensure everything is going smoothly and on track to be able to present the production on its release day.
“The cast wants to perform this story right,” says Taylor, “A strong commitment to present this story will bring an excellent performance.”
Making a production can be difficult, lots of challenges, setbacks, and unplanned events can lead the process to be going the wrong way. However, with a great director, like Donna Taylor, and hardworking cast members, this process can lead to a fantastic production to present to the students and audience of San Jacinto Central Campus.
For more information about this production, contact Donna Taylor by email at [email protected] or by phone at +12819986150-1801.
