Dramatic connection
Local production of '12 Angry Jurors' boasts UD connections
2:25 p.m., April 12, 2013--A local production of the classic drama 12 Angry Jurors boasts both historic and current connections to the University of Delaware.
The play by Sherman L. Sengel, based on a 1950s teleplay by Reginald Rose, is being staged by the Chapel Street Players in Newark from April 12-20.
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Scott Mason, the play's director, is associate director of University Student Centers and a UD alumnus. He also directed a 1990 production of the play for the Perkins Student Center's Bacchus Players, when he was building supervisor at Perkins. That production included a cast of 13 undergraduate and graduate students, among them Judith A. David, now manager of Custodial Services at UD, who is designing lights for the Chapel Street production.
Mason and David both play leadership roles at Chapel Street, with Mason serving as president and David as head of programming. Joining them is UD alumnus Brian Touchette, who is in charge of membership on the Chapel Street board and is alo designing sound for the current production.
But the history connection goes deeper than that. The Chapel Street Players actually started in the 1930s as the University Drama Group, a community theatre group mostly for faculty and their spouses, performing in Mitchell Hall until the undergraduate program became so big in the late 1960s that the group moved to Chapel Street.
The cast of 12 Angry Jurors includes a current student and a staff member. Nicalia ThompSon, who plays juror 2, is an undergraduate marketing major, with a minor in performance. She also serves as a student manager of Student Centers. Making his Chapel Street -- and theatrical -- debut as juror 9 is James Kendra, associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration and director of the Disaster Research Center.
In addition, several alumni are featured in the cast, including Dennis Williams as the voice of the judge, Brooks Black as juror 4, Gina Valania as juror 5, Patrick Sutton as juror 10 and Jeremy Smith as juror 12.
12 Angry Jurors is being presented at 8 p.m., April 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20, with a matinee at 2 p.m., April 14. For more details and ticket information, visit the Chapel Street Players website.