The Seton Hill University Theatre and Dance Program will present “The Skin of Our Teeth,” written by Thornton Wilder and directed by Ariel Francoeur, October 22 to 30 in the William Granger Ryan Theatre, Performing Arts Center, 100 Harrison Avenue, Greensburg, Pa. Tickets are $15, with student and group rates available. Call the Seton Hill Performing Arts Center Box Office for tickets at 724-552-2929 or purchase tickets online at www.setonhill.edu/tickets. “The Skin of Our Teeth” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com 

A panel discussion featuring the director and Seton Hill faculty members discussing the themes of the play and the implications in our world today is available for viewing here.  

As part of its COVID-19 risk mitigation efforts, the Seton Hill University Performing Arts Center requires all guests to wear masks at performances, regardless of vaccination status. 

Performances: October 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30:8 p.m.; October 24: 2 p.m.

Thornton Wilder’s wildly theatrical comedy is both timeless and timely. Part satire, part tragedy, and a little everything else, this chronicle of the human experiment from dinosaurs to world wars follows the Antrobus family (species American; New Jersian) as they face natural and man-made catastrophes, groping their way through the centuries with optimism, laughter, and a little grass soup. 

The Seton Hill student cast of “The Skin of Our Teeth” includes 

Kloe Bigelow of New Stanton, Pa.; Connery Brown of Aliquippa, Pa.; Tara Dougherty of Jefferson Hills, Pa.; Julianna Eyer of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Channing Griffin of Munhall, Pa.; Todd Griffin of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Kenzie Hartnett of Bridgeville, Pa.; Alexandra Hellinger of Allison Park, Pa.; Logan Hensell of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Amy Hotovchin of Elizabeth, Pa.; Taylor Humenay of Clearfield, Pa.; Michaela Isenberg of Bethel Park, Pa.; Diante Jackson of Greensburg, Pa.; Carolyn Jerz of Greensburg, Pa.; Gabriel M. List of Irwin, Pa.; Rowan Mentzer of Greenville, Pa.; Katherine McCarty of Butler, Pa.; Gabriella Oxley of Molendinar, Australia; Mia Paluzzi of Latrobe, Pa.; Samantha Sheldon of Catonsville, MD; Devon Young of Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Penelope Zamborsky of Homestead, Pa.

The Seton Hill student technical staff includes Lexi Jenks of Erie, Pa., stage manager; Abigail George of Gibsonia, Pa., assistant stage manager and costume crafts artist; Rain McCoy of Corpus Christi Texas, assistant projection designer and paint and props crew; Tess Stiffler of Penfield, NY, sound board operator and pain and props crew; Christopher Brown of Forestville, MD, light board operator, electrics crew and carpenter; Madison Buckley of Westlake, Ohio, run crew/fly crew, electrics crew and carpenter; Jordyn Turner of Bethel Park, Pa., wardrobe manager, assistant puppet builder and costume shop crew; Emily Coglio of New Castle, Pa., dresser; Taylor Humenay of Clearfield, Pa., carpenter and paint and props crew; Gabriel M. List of Irwin, Pa, carpenter; Kloe Bigelow of New Stanton, Pa., carpenter; Hannah Kuhar of Latrobe, Pa., carpenter;Katherine McCarty of Butler, Pa., carpenter and electrics crew; Penelope Zamborsky of Homestead, Pa., carpenter; Julia Wingard of Pittsburgh, Pa., carpenter; Isabel Papariella of Pittsburgh, Pa., carpenter; Tara Dougherty of Jefferson Hills, Pa., carpenter; Devon Young of Pittsburgh, Pa., carpenter; Kenzie Hartnett of Bridgeville, Pa., intimacy captain; Alexandra Hellinger of Allison Park, Pa., dance captain; Connery Brown of Aliquippa, Pa., costume shop crew; Julianna Eyer of Pittsburgh, Pa., costume shop crew; Mila Liberto of New Kensington, Pa., costume shop crew; Kayla McCargo of North Brunswick, NJ, costume shop crew; Tyawna Meyers of Central City, Pa., costume shop crew; Gabriella Oxley of Molendinar, Australia, costume shop crew; Daniel Velasquez of Summerhill, Pa., costume shop crew; Leta Meyer of Apollo, Pa., paint and props crew; Catherine Balaban of North Huntingdon, Pa., electrics crew; Abigail Corle of Johnstown, Pa., electrics crew; Carolyn Jerz of Greensburg, Pa, electrics crew and student dramaturg; Tanner Maue of Swissvale, Pa., electrics crew; Heather Royer of Greensburg, Pa., electrics crew; and Kage Williams of Uniontown, Ohio, electrics crew.

The Seton Hill University production of “The Skin of Our Teeth” is directed by Ariel Francoeur, a director and actor based in New York City. Trained in new play development with the Iowa Playwright’s Workshop, she’s directed new plays and musicals in New York at American Theater of Actors (Danny and the Deep Blue Sea Off-Broadway run), Park Avenue Armory Studios, Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival, Dixon Place, IRT Theater, NYC Fringe, Alchemical Lab, and many more. As an actor she tends toward the classical - New York roles include Olivia in Twelfth Night, Lady M in Macbeth, and Clytemnestra in Iphigenia in Aulis, though recently she’s appeared as a puppeteer in the first production of High Risk Baby (PushPush Arts in Atlanta), and as Captain Izabel Hicks in the new post-apocalyptic play Shelter (Otherworld Theater in Chicago.) Up next, Ariel will direct Phoenix in New York and a radio play Cyrano adaptation, Cyber-O, with Dean Theater in Los Angeles. She’s currently developing a new play with her husband, playwright Sean David Demers, about American theater director Margo Jones.  

Professional artistic staff for the production includes Ken Clothier, assistant professor of theatre, sound, lighting and projection design; Karen Glass, assistant professor of theatre, scenic designer and projection designer; Lisa Leibering, assistant professor of theatre, costume designer and puppet designer II; Elizabeth A. Miller, choreographer; Elaine Montgomery, costume shop manager; Jose Perez IV, fight choreographer; Denise Pullen, associate professor of theatre, artistic director; and Caila Yates, technical director, production manager and COVID-19 compliance officer.

Venue Information: All Seton Hill Theatre performances are held in the William Granger Ryan Theatre in Seton Hill’s Performing Arts Center, 100 Harrison Avenue, Greensburg, Pa.  The Performing Arts Center is a fully accessible and climate-controlled facility.  Parking is available in four nearby Greensburg parking areas:  the Bell Parking Garage on North Otterman Street (across the street from the Performing Arts Center), the Hellman-Ghrist lot on North Main Street, the Albert Grillo lot on Seton Hill Drive and the Wib Albright lot off West Otterman Street.   

Ticket Information:  Single admission tickets are $15.  Seton Hill students (with valid ID) can purchase tickets for $5.  Non-Seton Hill students (with a valid school ID) can purchase advance tickets for $13.  Students from any school can purchase rush tickets five minutes before curtain, subject to availability, for $5 (with valid school ID).  Groups of six or more can purchase tickets at a rate of $11 each with a reservation and advance payment. Order tickets online at http://www.setonhill.edu/tickets by phone at 724-552-2929, or by mail at SHUPAC Box Office, Seton Hill University, 1 Seton Hill Drive, Greensburg, Pa. 15601-1599.  Box Office Hours are Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. and three hours before a performance

Seton Hill University’s Performing Arts Center is 73,000 square feet of everything a performing arts major needs to move from student to professional. The Center houses two dedicated, flexible performance spaces, the Carol Ann Reichgut Concert Hall and the William Granger Ryan Theatre. The Center also includes a performance studio, new classrooms, rehearsal rooms and technical areas that include the best equipment for learning and performing, from Steinway pianos to the latest in lighting, sound, video and acoustics.  The Center is located in downtown Greensburg, putting it squarely in the middle of the city’s cultural district yet still only minutes from Seton Hill’s main hilltop campus. 

The Seton Hill University Theatre and Dance Program has a long history of educating performing arts majors for professional careers while playing a vital role in the educational life of the campus.  Seton Hill’s Theatre and Dance Program offers four full-length productions (as well as a number of shorter works) each year that generate audiences of over 3,500 and speak to topics addressed in courses across Seton Hill’s curriculum.  For more information on the Theatre Program at Seton Hill, please visit www.setonhill.edu or call 724-552-2934.

Photo above: Amy Hotovchin and Todd Griffin in the Seton Hill University Theatre production of "The Skin of Our Teeth."