September 19, 2024
The Harris Center Membership Team sat down with Ian Wallace, Chair of the Folsom Lake College Theatre Department, to discuss their November production: A Flea in Her Ear.
HC Membership Team: Thanks for chatting with us today. First off, can you give us a little background about Folsom Lake College's Theatre Department?
Ian Wallace: Falcon's Eye Theatre is the producing arm of the Department of Theatre and Cinema Arts here at Folsom Lake College. Our department offers an associate's degree in Theatre as well as a Technical Theatre certificate. The actors and crew members in our productions are a mixture of students in the department as well as community members from the surrounding area. It is all led by the faculty and staff of the college. Falcon's Eye has been producing theater since 2007. Our first production at the Harris Center was The Skin of Our Teeth back in the spring of 2011. Harris Center members may have seen one of our awesome productions from last season: 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas in Stage 2 or Cabaret in Stage 1.
HC Membership Team: Can you tell us a little about A Flea in Her Ear and why your department chose to produce it this season?
Ian Wallace: A Flea in Her Ear is a truly hilarious play. It's considered one of the greatest farces ever written. It was originally written by the French playwright Georges Feydeau in 1907. People might be familiar with the 1968 film adaptation that starred Rex Harrison and Rosemary Harris. The version we are producing is a new translation by the American playwright David Ives. It's set in Paris at the turn of the 20th century and is filled with mistaken identities, misunderstandings, and slapstick humor, as characters navigate a series of chaotic, often absurd situations centered around infidelity and jealousy. Professor David Harris, who is directing our production, has long been a fan of it and thought our audiences here at the Harris Center would really enjoy it!
HC Membership Team: Can you give us a sneak peek at what the production will look like?
Ian Wallace: Yes! The scenery for the production is designed by Cameron Hoyt. Cameron is a full-time staff member in the department, supervising our scene shop. He was really excited to pull from Art Nouveau motifs popular in Paris at the turn of the 20th century as a part of the design. His set includes lots of fun organic art nouveau shapes and patterns. Our stagecraft students are hard at work building and painting the scenery and making props for the show! There is a fun pit with a trick bed on a turntable that I think audiences will really enjoy! Costume Designer Bella McLaughlin has created a rich tapestry of costumes inspired by French Belle Epoque fashion from the early 1900s. In addition to the hilarious script, members will be treated to a visually awesome production! Rounding out the design team are our talented student designers: Aubrey Wunschel designing lights, Hazel Beck designing sound, and Monet Tabacco designing props.
HC Membership Team: That sounds so fun! What else do you have planned for the rest of the 2024-2025 season?
Ian Wallace: After A Flea in Her Ear, Falcon's Eye will be presenting the comedy American Night: The Ballad of Juan José by Richard Montoya in Stage 2 in April, and a production of Shakspeare's Twelfth Night presented at David Girard Vineyard in Placerville in May. It's an exciting line-up this season and we don't think audiences will be disappointed!
A Flea in Her Ear will be in Stage 2. Buy tickets to A Flea in Her Ear.
A Flea in Her Ear Showtimes
- Friday, November 8, at 7:30 pm
- Saturday, November 9, at 7:30 pm
- Sunday, November 10, at 2:00 pm
- Friday, November 15, at 7:30 pm
- Saturday, November 16, at 7:30 pm
- Sunday, November 17, at 2:00 pm
- Thursday, November 21, at 7:30 pm
- Friday, November 22, at 7:30 pm
- Saturday, November 23, at 7:30 pm
- Sunday, November 24, at 2:00 pm
Learn more about Falcon's Eye Theatre and its future productions.