Arms and the Man

It just gets better and better for College of Fine Arts and Productions when it comes to the annual ariZoni Awards. This year, the college won eight awards, seven for last year’s production of a “A Year with Frog and Toad.” “I feel like I can believe that it’s just going to get better and better in terms of what we do and our reputation across the country,” said COFAP Assistant Dean William Symington.

When she started her undergraduate career in the College of Fine Arts and Production, Rachel Schumacher just loved to act. Now, four years and exposure to the different areas within theatre later, Schumacher has accepted a full-ride scholarship in lighting design from the University of Connecticut and plans to begin this fall.

For fans of Romantic Comedies, than Ethington theatre has the production for you, in it’s second play of the season. “Arms and the Man” is a play written by George Bernard Shaw and showcases a number of central character’s journey to find true love. “I think it’s super interesting sort of the way holds up over time and the way that the meaning shifts,” Alexander Cavanaugh said. “Since the play was originally an anti-war piece, how we’re honing in now on the romanization and the way we present ourselves verses how we actually are as people, it’s cool to see how that translates today and holds up as a piece of art.”

There will be a lot of laughs in Ethington Theatre this season, and that’s by design. The schedule, which begins Aug. 23 with “One Man, Two Guvnors,” is filled with classic comedies. “Lighthearted,” said Claude Pensis, Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Production, “but still the plays have messages. It’s always a matter of what does the director want to do, and then how does it fit into the program?”