Theater department to perform Chekov’s “Three Sisters”

By Abigail Haynes | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Although Flagler College theater students study the work of Anton Chekhov each year, they’ve never performed his work on their own stage.  

But on March 6 at 7:30 p.m., that will change. The Flagler College Theater Arts Department is set to perform Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” in the Lewis Auditorium this week, starting Wednesday, running through Sunday, March 10.

The play shows at 7:30 p.m. from March 6 through 9 and on March 10, showtime is at 2:30 p.m.. Flagler College students, faculty, staff and their immediate families may attend the show for free. General admission tickets are $15 for the public and $5 for students not attending Flagler.  

Andrea McCook, the director of the show, said the play portrays the reality of life and the ridiculousness of humans as they respond to a changing world. 

“The play is full of comments about the future and reminisces on a way of life that is no more,” McCook said. “He’s not saying we must hold onto the past. He’s not saying we should move forward to the future. But what he does show is the drastic consequences of not being willing to change and letting go of the past.”  

As McCook and her cast work through the play, they are continuously learning.  

“I was in ‘Three Sisters’ when I was in graduate school,” she said. “As I’m working with it, the more I’m falling in love with the play. I’m finding things in it that I didn’t even realize were there.”

While the title of the show only mentions three characters, there are 14 actors in the cast, including two non-student actors. 

“It has four wonderful roles for women. We have strong actresses in the department and so we thought this would be a great project to showcase their talents and abilities and to stretch them as actors,” McCook said.  

Two Flagler College students, Megan Williams and Corlina Kiernan, are using the play as their senior project. 

While rehearsals began in January, McCook has had this show in the works for a year. 

“I selected the play last spring, so I’ve been engaged with it for a year. We had auditions in September. Megan and I started meeting to discuss her role and she did a lot of research of her own and we would compare notes. I also worked with Corlina over the fall as she worked on the set design,” McCook said.  

Kiernan, the set designer, decided to use birch trees as the walls for the set to reflect their prominence in the play.  

“We decided to do a stripped down set with no walls, but we have this background of trees. It’s almost minimalist,” McCook said.  

McCook said she hopes that students from the surrounding schools will make their way to see the show.  

“I don’t believe we’ve ever done a Chekhov play at Flagler before, but it is certainly one we study. We try to make sure we cover a wide range of plays during a student’s four years here. I’m hoping that the fact that it is Chekhov will bring people in,” McCook said.  

The box office opens on March 4. Flagler College students who attend the show will receive a co-curricular credit. Tickets are additionally available for purchase online at https://flagler.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx.