Joni is single, lost, and moving a mile a minute. Joni must never be alone. After her five-year relationship ends, Joni must redefine her identity – and fast.
Through strangers and friends, cheese plates, and spotlights, she embarks on a madcap journey to carve out a space for herself in a world that won’t quite let her.
Ohio Wesleyan University’s Department of Performing Arts will present four free performances of Steph Del Rosso’s “Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill” at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27, 28, and 29, and at 2 p.m. Oct. 30 on the Main Stage of Chappelear Drama Center, 45 Rowland Ave., Delaware.
The comedy was a semifinalist in the National Playwrights’ Conference, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, in 2017, and debuted nationally in 2018. In reviewing the production, New York Theater called Del Rosso’s creation “an often fun, over-the-top comedy … about the wincing aftermath of the breakup. The title is meant to describe what Joni tries to do after being dumped – fill the sudden holes in her life.”
Directed by Ohio Wesleyan instructor Bradford Sadler, “Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill” explores how we see and value women – and how we don’t. It contains mature themes and is not appropriate for children. Justin A. Miller serves as lights and projection designer and as technical director, and Jaylene Jennings serves as costume designer.
“This play appeals to me because it uses bold theatrical techniques to dramatize something that most of us go through, a very bad breakup,” said Sadler, a 2005 OWU graduate and professional director and performer. “It also employs satire to force us to ponder something that we all should think about, namely how exactly we view and treat women as a society, and how the media we watch reinforces some troubling notions.”
Eight Ohio Wesleyan students are performing in the play. They include Alex Dolph of Middletown, Ohio, as Joni; Jude Campbell of Blissfield, Michigan, as Noah; Evan Van Deusen of Chattanooga, Tennessee, as Todd; Millie Rocco of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, as Lisa; Owen Rehak of Cleveland, Ohio, as Ray; Elizabeth Sumoza of Chicago, Illinois, as Kate; Cody Lunder of Columbus, Ohio, as Doug; and Kaya Ferrell of Delaware, Ohio, as Young Joni.
Six OWU students are filling key production jobs. They include Dyna Bresson of Columbus, Ohio, assistant director; Isabelle Tinti-Kane of Marblehead, MA, stage manager; Sydney Lewis of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, assistant stage manager; Pedro Oliveira Figueiredo of Salvador, Brazil, assistant stage manager; Eric Burns of Pine Hill, New Jersey, technical assistant; and Daniel Smith of Columbus, Ohio, assistant costume designer.
Tickets for “Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill” are free for everyone, but reservations are required by visiting www.owu.edu/PerformingArts beginning two weeks before the show debuts. For questions, call the box office at (740) 368-3855.
