by David Roman | Interim Asst. Inscape Editor

With the new semester come new prospects for Riverside City College students who want to get involved around the campus.

Perhaps one of the most popular departments on campus is the theatre department, known for putting on multiple productions throughout the semester.

With past productions including “The Secret Garden,” “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” “Spring Awakening,” “Chicago,” and “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),” the theatre department is regionally known for putting on some the best shows in Riverside.

This semester, theatre department co-chair David Nelson will be directing “Doubt, A Parable,” written by John Patrick Shanley.

The drama is set in the Bronx at a catholic school for boys during the fall of 1964, and tells the tale of a devout nun’s persistent doubt of the parish’s priest when the possibility that he may be engaging in inappropriate behavior with one of the students is brought to light.

With the church turning a blind eye, and the family of the student dissatisfied with Sister Aloysius’s accusations, the nun is left only with her doubt.

The Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama and Tony Award winning 2004 play was later adapted intothe popular 2008 film of the same name, starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Viola Davis and was directed by original
playwright, Shanley.

Among several awards, the film went on to be nominated for four Academy Awards and three British Academy of Film and
Television awards.

Nelson’s production of “Doubt, A Parable” is set to premiere October 17 and run until the October 20.

Students are encouraged to audition.

Auditions will be held August 26 in Quad 144 from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Students are also being presented with the opportunity to work on the production as crew members and stage hands.

Also coming to RCC this semester is “The Wild Party,” a 1928 musical written and composed by Andrew Lippa.

Directed by theatre department co-chair Jodi Julian, “The Wild Party” follows the bitter relationship of two vaudeville performers: Burrs, a clown and Queenie, a show girl.

Most of the musical is set around a crazy party thrown by the couple, with many interesting vaudeville characters in attendance including a prizefighter named Eddie, a mute dancer, a hooker by the name of Dolores and her lesbian madam
Madeleine True.

Julian’s “The Wild Party” is set to premiere November 8 and run through to November 17.