Starting April 19 at 7:30 p.m., North Central’s theater department will be putting on Annie Baker’s “The Flick” to run through the weekend. Baker’s play, which won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2014, follows three employees of a rundown movie theater. It details their casual interactions as they sweep theaters, mop lobbies and exchange casual banter in a day’s work.
Photo by Carin Silkaitis
The Off-Broadway play initially received critical reception by labeling the banal activities and three-hour runtime as repetitive, and others praising its nuanced characters and dialogue.
Psychology and theater major Reagan Quynn serves as the play’s assistant director and has worked alongside the cast since the beginning of spring term to bring Baker’s play to North Central.
“‘The Flick’ is a micro-naturalist type of play,” says Quynn. “It addresses societal issues that I think are very prevalent today and really not brought up or talked about.”
Quynn also notes that the play isn’t afraid to dabble into the uncomfortable, bringing forth a lot of “taboo” instances that other works might be more inclined to avoid. Such instances involve racial issues, a non-consensual sexual scene and discussions of mental health.
“There’s a lot of stuff (in the play) that I feel like people today struggle with and (the play) does a very good job at addressing that and calling people out on it,” says Quynn.
Directed by Carin Silkaitis, “The Flick” will run from April 19-22 in Madden Theatre in Wentz Concert Hall. A full list of showtimes can be found on the website.
