Underground Play festival features Cornell connections

Theatre Cedar Rapids’ fifth annual Underground New Play Festival, which starts Thursday, features a number of Cornell College connections, including a writer, director, and actors.

Janeve West, associate professor of theatre, is directing two plays, “Reluctance,” and “Honey Song.” The latter was written by Jen Rouse, consulting librarian for humanities and the arts, and also features two alumni as actors: Leslie Charipar ’89 as the queen and Roxy Running ’06 as a member of the hive.

“Honey Song” is described as the story of the life of a beehive. Worker, as a young, devoted member of the hive, must come to terms with the imminent death of her Queen. The Queen must find a way to help them both through this transition of seasonal change.

In addition to her acting, Charipar is TCR’s artistic director.

The festival starts Thursday and runs through Oct. 12. More information is available on the Theatre Cedar Rapids website.