Watertown Resident and BC Professor Directs New Play

Scott Cummings, a Watertown resident and Boston College professor, directs two new plays as part of the college's commitment to new works, according to the  The Boston College Theatre Department.

The production – performed in Robsham Theater’s Bonn Studio Theater – features two works: "The Missing Piece" by senior Riley Madincea and "Chase 304" by junior Meghan Crosby. 

"This is a great opportunity not just for student playwrights but for student actors as well to learn about new play development," Cummings said in a release. "The crucible of rehearsal prompts lots of changes and adjustments in the scripts. It's an exciting process."

"The Missing Piece" tells the story of an estranged brother and sister who are reunited by their mother's funeral. Their encounter with a mysterious stranger leads each of them to a better understanding of who they are and what really matters in life. 

"Chase 304" is a slice‐of‐life comedy about eight college women hanging out in their dormitory common room late on a Saturday afternoon. The play takes a tender look at campus life from a distinctly female point of view, as the characters deal with homework, social lives and the perplexing questions of love and romance.

"The two plays could not be more different in tone and style," Cummings said. "I think the audience will be pleasantly surprised."

Both Madincea and Crosby are undergraduate theatre majors who are active on campus.

Madincea moved at an early age with his family from Florida to Surrey, England, where he grew up and where his family still resides. The director of My Mother's Fleabag, BC's oldest improv comedy troupe, he plans to return to the UK to pursue a career in acting after graduation.

Crosby has taken the Theatre Department by storm. The Guilford, Connecticut, native is active in a number of campus cultural groups, including the University Chorale, Liturgy Arts Group and Artists Striving to End Poverty. She will appear in the Theatre Department's spring production of the musical "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."

Following productions in 2005 and 2007, this is the third time that Cummings and the Theatre Department have presented an evening of original student‐written plays under the “New Voices” umbrella.

The production opens Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. and runs Saturday, Feb. 26, and Sunday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. in the Bonn Studio Theater at the Robsham Theater Arts Center. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, and are available at the RTAC Box Office, or by calling 617‐552‐4002. For more information, please go to www.bc.edu/theatre.