The Spoon River Project
Director
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Director: Rianna Ryan
Stage Manager: Emma Loney
Assistant Stage Manager: Matthew Lamers
Scenic Design, Props Coordinator: Stella Vatnsdal
Lighting Design: Andrew Norfolk
Costume Design: Jeannie Hurley & Moriah Babinski
Sound Design: Levi Schlimgen
Production Photos: Katie Kampfhenkel
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Tom Andolora did a wonderful job of picking and choosing between the 212 characters in Edgar Lee Masters’, The Spoon River Anthology. Andolora narrowed it down to 45 characters, many of whose stories are interwoven. Andolora added in music of the period to beautifully underscore the characters’ stories and tragic deaths, and in a way, create a sense of community between them all. Set in the 1890s, the citizens of Spoon River endured many hardships in life. The Russian influenza was passed to and throughout America due to modern transportation and human contact. At the time, public health officials and newspapers played down the severity of the influenza, so no one was bothered by it at first. After the death tolls sky rocketed, people started to realize how serious this influenza was. This was one of the first modern pandemics America faced but it’s not as well known as the Spanish influenza. One would think we would have learned our lesson by now not to mess around with death after facing many deadly viruses. Listen to the citizens of Spoon River—they can teach us a lesson based on what they experienced while we are in the midst of a pandemic now. Don’t mess with death—it’s not a force to be reckoned with. Take precautions, follow safety guidelines. Life is a precious thing; “It takes life, to love life.”
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