Blinn-Brenham Theatre Arts Program will end 'Year of the Supernatural' with 'The Yellow Wallpaper'

Tale of insanity will be staged April 18-21 at O’Donnell Performing Arts Center

April 9, 2024

A tale of insanity will cap the Blinn College-Brenham Campus Theatre Arts Program’s “Year of the Supernatural.”

“The Yellow Wallpaper” will be staged at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, April 18 and 19, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21, at the Dr. W.W. O’Donnell Performing Arts Center. Preview performances for area schools are Thursday, April 18 (10 a.m. and 1 p.m.) and Friday, April 19 (10 a.m.).

Tickets, $10 for adults and $5 for Blinn students and children, are available online at www.blinn.edu/boxoffice, by calling 979-830-4024, or by emailing boxoffice@blinn.edu.

Theatre Arts Director and Professor Brad Nies, who will direct the play, said “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a “frightening journey into the world of a young woman who is slowly losing her mind.”

The woman is sequestered on a remote estate her husband has rented for the summer. As she is recovering from “temporary nervousness,” she is forbidden to entertain guests. Without anyone to talk to, she becomes obsessed with the wallpaper in her bedroom as the effect of her stifled creativity begins to take a toll on her sanity, said Nies.

The cast includes only three onstage performers – Ana Soto as Jane, Steven Houlihan as John, and Aliana Hernandez as Jennie.

Kevin Patrick, Technical Theatre Arts Director and Professor, will be the technical director, with faculty member Jennifer Patrick serving as costume, makeup, and hair designer.

Crew members are Eric Cruz, student stage manager, dramaturg, and properties; Madison Manchester, student assistant stage manager, dramaturg, and properties; Jayden Peavy, student lighting design; Maygen Meadows, student sound design; Peyton Jolly, student costume design; Quinn Gonzalez-Moore, student makeup design; and Fabian Carranza, student scenery design.

For Soto, a freshman from Katy, this will be her first “starring” role at Blinn.

“I'm very excited to see how far we can go with the show,” she said. “I chose to do theatre at Blinn because it has a great program and directors that teach you something new every day. I've done it for eight years now and I always love having it as one of my creative outlets and also being able to do something I love outside of school.

“I chose Blinn because it is a nice yet small campus, and the classes aren't too big so you can easily reach out to your teachers and being able to get one-on-one help. Blinn also offers so many other places to reach out to.

“It has been an amazing opportunity and I feel like I've been able to step out of my comfort zone with this show. It has an amazing story with a very impactful meaning behind it.”

Blinn’s Theatre Arts Program cultivates a quality educational foundation of study, application, and experience through a wide range of performance, technical, and production studies. Its Associate of Arts degree plan integrates artistic, technical, and academic disciplines of theatre from the classroom to the stage. Students have an opportunity to audition for various performances related to drama and theatre and are prepared to transfer to four-year colleges and universities. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu/theatre.