RCC Students Perform 'Vanities'

Patty Maloney-Titland, named Art Educator of the Year by the Rockland Council of the Arts, directed a student production of Vanities, which was performed at the Cultural Arts Center’s Black Box Theater May 12-15.

Set in the 1960s through the mid 1970s, "Vanities" follows a group of friends transition from high school into adulthood. The journey into adulthood leads the girls through the discovery of sex, heartbreak and coping with life after graduation. Three best friends take on the world in the midst of historic events such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War.

Rockland Community College students Meagan Morales-Correa, Kimberlyn Frost, and Victoria Gomez played the three best friends.

• Morales-Correa played Joanne, a cheerleader who dreams of becoming the perfect wife and mother.
• Gomez played Mary, a sheltered teenager who grows up to be an erotic art gallery owner.
• Frost played Kathy, a natural born planner filled with spunk.

“Vanities is a wonderful play for three young women," said "Vanities" director Maloney-Titland. "It provides a fantastic opportunity for three student/actors to explore these characters over three distinct and varied phases of their lives."

The trio worked tediously to give RCC a performance they would never forget.

“We spent our nights here," said Gomez. "I’d be here at nine in the morning for my class then stay here until ten at night until rehearsal was over."

 “We got our scripts right before spring break," said Frost. "We all took our scripts and plowed through reading them. It was like, okay, memorize! Go!"

The audience packed the theater for this beloved story of friendship. Students and parents listened to popular songs from the 1960’s, before the show. “Hey Jude” by the Beatles and “I heard it through the grapevine” by Marvin Gaye, flowed through the background as the audience prepared to time warp into the 1960’s.

The opening scene takes place in a high school gymnasium in the fall of 1963. The audience is introduced to three cheerleaders planning for the dance. The trio basks in the beauty of popularity and friendship that will last forever. They deal with average teen issues such as sex, appearance, boyfriends, and strict parents. The stage fades to black as the assassination of President Kennedy is announced over the loudspeaker. Morales-Correa’s character reaction to the news is “The President of the student council has been shot?”

“KKG KKG eternally," repeats Frost’s character Kathy. The second scene takes place in the Kappa sorority house in the spring of 1968. The girls are once again on the brink of graduation. The sorority officers face different paths as each of them chases their dreams unsure of the fate of their friendship.

Carly Simon’s “You’re so vain," plays in the background as the third scene opens. The girls reunite in Kathy’s garden apartment in the summer of 1974. The girls emerge as women who have chosen radically different paths in life. Kathy keeps an air of mystery disclosing as little as possible. Mary owns an erotic art gallery much to the displeasure of her family. Joanne is married to dominant husband with three children. The play ends leaving the audience wondering if the girls will ever overcome their differences and salvage their friendship.

Kathy’s air of mystery captured the audience. “I thought the play was great. I like how it left some questions un-answered," said RCC student Pablo Rivera.

Donations for “Vanities” will go to relief for Japan in a cross-campus effort, along with the RCC Asian Pacific Islander club. Japanese native, Kaoru Miyauchi spoke during the intermission asking for donations befitting the Japanese disaster relief effort.

“Japanese people are struggling for their lives, and they feel that they are living through a never-ending tragedy," said Miyauchi. "I want to support Japan from New York and let the Japanese people know that Americans, and especially New Yorkers, care about the Japanese.  I am collecting not only donations, but also hope and love for Japan."