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The theater season is underway as students auditioned for the department’s fall productions. Cast and crew members showed excitement after a week of table reads and first rehearsals for the thriller play “Gaslight.”

“‘Gaslight’ entails a man who is very methodically driving his wife nuts,” said Darin Himmerich, the theater program director. “He’s not a nice person. But it’s very methodical.”

Jack Manningham, the sinister male lead, will be played by Nathaniel York, a UNK Theatre senior. 

“It’s a very dark character,” York said. “There’s a lot of mental work that goes into it, especially the aspect of not taking any of this character home with me. It’s a lot of work but it is fun.”

The term “gaslight” originated from the play, which was originally called “Gas Light” in 1938. The word is coined by the play, and the word means manipulating someone by psychological means. 

Mrs. Bella Manningham is the gaslit wife in the play. This character will be played by Britney Kouma, a senior with an endorsement in theater. 

“It’s a very important literature piece,” Kouma said. “It’s very heavy. I really enjoy the character because she kind of gets to go mad on stage and I’ve always wanted to do that.”

Aside from being a lead role in the first production, Kouma was chosen to be the student director of the second fall play “The Haunting of Hill House.” 

Students may recognize the name from the supernatural horror drama series on Netflix. The theater program’s production is based on the novel by Shirley Jackson. 

Kouma notices its difference as UNK’s rendition centers around isolation. 

“The fact that we’ve all gone through that with COVID – as a director, I placed it during the summer of 2020, so that way it can be as close to personalized to the audience as possible,” Kouma said. “It’s going to be very interesting, and I’d say look out for the new (student actors) because they are very talented and I’m so excited to let them see the light of the stage.”

“Gaslight” will run from Oct. 5- 9 in the Miriam Drake Theatre and “The Haunting of Hill House” will run Nov. 12-20 in the Studio Theater. Both shows are free to UNK students who present their UNK ID.