For Martin Miller ’07 and the rest of Carleton’s Experimental Theater Board (ETB), next Thursday is bound to be a red-letter day. That’s because it’s opening night of their much-anticipated—and Miller’s final—production at the College. “The Woman in Black” premieres Thursday, May 17 at 8 p.m. in the Nourse Little Theater, with additional performances on Friday, May 18 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, May 19 at 8:30 p.m. Performances are free and open to the public; reservations are recommended.
Adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatrat from Susan Hill’s novel of the same name, “The Woman in Black” has been called “a brilliantly effective spine chiller" and “a truly nerve shredding experience." It is the tale of Arthur Kipps, an ambitious young lawyer sent out to settle the estate of the recently deceased Alice Drablow in the tiny, marsh-flanked town of Crythin Gifford. While he arrives prepared to do his job, he is completely unprepared for the psychological terror he encounters.
Miller, of Fayetteville, Ark., graduates this spring after a long and successful career in Carleton theater. “The Woman in Black” is the fourth show he has directed; Miller has acted in seven plays and done publicity for eighteen. “I'm absolutely putting everything I've learned over these four years to use in ‘The Woman in Black,’” says Miller. “I couldn't ask for more enthusiastic actors or a more top-notch crew.”
“The Woman In Black” features Tucker Schiek ’07 (Austin, Minn.) as Arthur Kipps and Paul Hager, technical director of cinema and media studies at Carleton, as the Actor. This production will also be the first show to take full advantage of a new state-of-the-art sound system that Miller himself researched, purchased, and supervised the installation.
The Experimental Theater Board is Carleton's non-musical, non-departmental student theater resource. Run entirely by students, ETB coordinates and funds broadly-themed theatrical productions, staging three to five productions each academic term. For more information and disability accommodations, contact the ETB at carletontheater@gmail.com. For reservations, call (507) 646-4439.
