Hope College Theatre Presents Smokefall in October

The Department of Theatre at Hope College will present Smokefall by Noah Haidle on Friday and Saturday, October 11-12, and Thursday through Saturday, October 17-19 at 7:30 p.m. There will also be a free matinee on Sunday, October 13 at 2:00 p.m. All performances will be held in the DeWitt Studio Theatre.

Directed by Professor Daina Robins, Smokefall follows several generations of an eccentric family as it navigates the complex dynamics among its members. Playwright Noah Haidle grew up in Grand Rapids and places Smokefall in that Michigan city. Robins described her attraction to the script: 

“ I find it to be a poignantly comic and comically poignant play about family and the intimate and complicated relationships most of us have with that unit. It also presents a highly theatrical, even surreal, world that still reflects a recognizable truth, if not necessarily our ‘reality.’ I like plays that vividly use metaphor and do not try to duplicate the photorealism of film and television. Smokefall does that.” 

In addition to Robins, the production team includes Theatre Department Chair Michelle Bombe as costume designer, Assistant Professor Eric Van Tassell as lighting designer and Professor Richard Smith as scenic and properties designer. Staff members Ken Chamberlain, Stephen Krebs and Darlene Veenstra serve as sound designer, technical director, and costume shop manager respectively. Also on the production team are several students: senior Emmie Sandstedt as stage manager and freshmen Annika Dekker and Grace Mitchell as assistant stage managers. 

The cast includes Hope College Philosophy Professor Andrew Dell’Olio, junior Maxwell Lam, sophomore Ellyn Purnell and freshmen Katy Smith and Adam Chamness.

Tickets are $10 for regular admission, $7 for senior citizens and Hope faculty and staff, and free for Hope College students and students ages 18 and under. Tickets are available at the Events and Conferences Office located in downtown Holland in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center (100 E. Eighth St.). The ticket office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached at 616-395-7890. Tickets may be purchased by calling or visiting the ticket office, online at hope.edu/tickets, or in person at the performance. The Dewitt Center is located at 141 E 12th St. The building faces Columbia Avenue and sits between 10th and 13th streets. The Studio Theatre is located in the basement of the building.