WWU Theatre to partner with Fairhaven Middle School on 'The Monologue Project, 5th ed.' Dec. 2-4

Western Washington University’s Department of Theatre and Dance will present “The Monologue Project, 5th ed.” in conjunction with Fairhaven Middle School at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 2 through 4, at the Firehouse Performing Arts Center at 1314 Harris Ave. in Fairhaven.

Recently awarded a Bellingham Mayor’s arts award by Mayor Dan Pike, the collaboration between WWU and Fairhaven Middle School originally began in 2005 and has been growing every year. This year’s production includes over 50 never-before-seen original monologues that touch on a variety of topics from school to self-image to wildly imaginative journeys.

In addition to the college actors, a number of middle school students will perform their own monologues while others will perform monologues written by their classmates. Each evening’s show will be followed by a post-show discussion with the audience, during which the playwrights and actors will share their experiences.

Tickets for the performance are $8 general and $5 students (with ID) and are available at the door on the day of the show. Cash or checks only will be accepted.

“The Monologue Project, 5th ed.” began this fall with Joel Gillman’s eighth-grade Language Arts classes at Fairhaven Middle School, where students learned a variety of ways to communicate their personal experiences, thoughts, and passions through the medium of dramatic writing. Exploring a range of voices, each student wrote up to 12 monologues.

The finished monologues were given to WWU Assistant Professor of Theater and Dance’s Rich Brown’s Acting 260 class as part of the course’s service-learning component. Each college acting student selected and performed two monologues for the playwrights in November at Western’s Old Main Theatre. The Fairhaven students were able to hear not only the voices of their peers but also their own words come to life through the art of performance, and each actor and playwright was given the chance to meet and discuss their views on the experience.

In addition to the Acting 260 class, Associate Professor Deb Currier’s Drama in Education students have been serving as acting coaches throughout the quarter to help prepare the Fairhaven student actors for their evening performance.

For more information about The Monologue Project, please contact Rich Brown at (360) 7320 or Rich.Brown@wwu.edu or visit www.wwu.edu/theatre.