Being Seen

Directed by Mindy Cooper

Wyatt Theatre

Tickets: $10. Call the box office at (530) 752-7111. For ticket information please email: tdtickets@ucdavis.edu.

This production will be performed October 7 – 8, 2015 @ 8 p.m. at Wyatt Theatre.  There will be a talkback after every performance.

In Being Seen, an actress is auditioned by a director to join his company. She’s put through a series of challenges that range from tap dancing to playing a trapped fly to being asked to reveal a secret she swore to never tell.

Her willingness to plunge headlong into each request for the sake of being accepted, coupled with her lack of understanding of what’s really being asked of her, is a generator of endless comedy.

At the same time, serious questions are raised. You may find yourself wondering, What would I put up with to win a dream assignment?; If I was the director, would I choose that actress?; and Is the director insane, or is there method to his madness? 

This is exhilarating theatre, brilliantly scripted by Richard Gustin and directed by Mindy Cooper to be simultaneously comedic and thought-provoking. 

And it’s beautifully acted by Broadway veteran William Youmans as the enigmatic director, and by Allison Minick (A UC Davis alumni) —who has the challenging task of playing an actress less talented than she is, blending comedy and pathos, and getting tons of laughs through her facial expressions and body language as she reacts to each absurd directorial suggestion. Minick somehow pulls it all off, and the result is magic.