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Arts & Entertainment

Lindenwood presents 'The Pillowman'

Dark comedy opens Thursday at the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts.

The Pillowman, a dark comedy set in a totalitarian state, is the next production of the Lindenwood University Theatre Department.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday in the Emerson Black Box Theatre in Lindenwood's J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts, 2300 West Clay St., St. Charles. The performance is free.

The production is a master’s thesis project of Jason Puff, who plays the lead role. It is directed by Nicholas Kelly of the Lindenwood Theatre faculty.

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"Jason came to me looking for a project, and I gave him a big group of plays to read," Kelly said. "He asked me to direct, and I'm honored and happy to do that for him."

Kelly was pleased with Puff's choice. "I really love that play," he said. "It's something a student can research and really sink his teeth into. It's something that's never been done before here."

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"At first I liked it because it was edgy and gritty--something that would test me," Puff said. "Then I really got into what it was saying."

Written by Martin McDonagh, The Pillowman won the 2004 Lawrence Olivier Award for Best New Play and the 2005 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Foreign Play.

"I'm very excited to get a chance to do one of his plays," Kelly said. "It's a newer play and a subject matter you don't read about much. It's an interesting piece for people to come see." 

It is the story of a writer named Katurian (played by Puff), who is being interrogated by police about the gruesome content of his short stories. Those stories bear certain similarities to a series of child murders.

"When I looked at the play, there's some nasty stuff, but then it reminded me of my childhood and drove me to look deeper into the words," Puff said. "The subject matter is so dark, you really have to like the character to play him. Looking at some of the gruesome subject matter and finding the sweetness in it is the challenge."

"It's a story about storytelling. It's incredible and I appreciate that," Kelly said. "It has this amazing theme of violence: Why does violence happen? Why do people commit violence and have it done to them? And it's done in a tastefully way and humorous also.

"It's a dark comedy with a lot of drama in it," Kelly said. "It's a crime drama in a way. If you're interested in shows like CSI or detective dramas, this is a live stage version of those kinds of shows."

The cast also includes  Shane Bosillo,Nathaniel Carlson, Wes Jenkins, Michael Juncal, Danica Nalepa, Katy Osantowske and Parth Patel.

Assisting with the production are Katie Ritter (stage manager), Sarah Thompson (assistant stage manager), Kyler Greene (lighting), Sarah Thompson (sound), Krista Tettaton (props), Brian Paladin (set design) and Katie Donovan (costume design).

Puff said he first got into acting in the sixth grade but didn't take it seriously as a career path until age 23. When he finishes his education, he will pursue a future in writing and acting. "I'm working up an idea for traveling theater," he said.

"Jason's doing wonderful work. The amount of growth he's shown is really amazing," Kelly said. "That's what we want from thesis projects."

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