This winter, student actors at are rehearsing for, “Our Country’s Good,” a fictionalized depiction of the establishment of a penal colony in Australia in 1788. The play follows one officer’s attempts to put on a theatrical production with a cast of male and female convicts.
The play is based on the historical novel "The Playmaker" (1987) by Thomas Keneally, author of "Schindler’s List." The source for both play and novel are the letters and journals of various officers that were members of the “First Fleet” of convict ships that sailed to Australia.
After acclaimed runs in Australia, Britain and American theaters, “Our Country’s Good” appeared in 1991 on Broadway, where it received six Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, and won the New York Drama Critics award as Best Foreign Play.
The Schreiber cast of “Our Country’s Good” received professional level training from dialect coach, Elise May. May has taught theater voice, dictation and dialects to all ages in the United States, England, Canada and Bermuda for more than 25 years. May’s vocal empowerment program, “Expressive Elocution,” has been in Port Washington elementary schools and for six years. The students have been working with her on a variety of accents such as English, Cockney, Irish and Scottish, to name a few.
Fifteen of Schreiber’s top dramatic actors and actresses portray the 22 different characters in this production.
Cast: Julia Bain, Chris Falcioni, Steven Krainin, Nate Krantz, Miles Kurtz, Kalia Lay, Andy Lieberman, Liam Marsigliano, Annabelle May, Yvette May, Kevin Roberts, Sydney Ronis, Kyra Schor, Scott Singer, Delia Van Praag.
Director: Christine Nelson. Producer: Lauren Foster-Holzer
The production will be performed Thursday and Friday, Feb. 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. and 7:30p.m. in the Schreiber auditorium. For more information on this upcoming performance, contact the Creative Arts Department at 767-5480.
This play contains some mature subject matter. Discretion is advised.
