Performing Arts - Good Ship Pride

THE GOOD SHIP PRIDE OF COMMUNIPAW FLATS

Originally written by the late James T. Costigan ’33, M.S. ’34, The Good Ship Pride of Communipaw Flats is a melodrama and farce on silent films. Presented for years to incoming Stevens freshmen, people began losing interest in presenting it because of the campy script. In 1999 it was revived for an Alumni Weekend event with a bit of an update to the script, but again fell silent until the summer of 2007 when Bob Reed '70 resurrected it once more.

During Alumni Weekend in June of 2007, alumni (including members of the class of ’57), students and friends of the DeBaun Auditorium gathered together to bring The Good Ship Pride of Communipaw Flats back to the Stevens stage. In the spirit of the old Theta Alpha Phi shows, it was designed and rehearsed in couple of days. Bob gathered together the actors and the technical team and then charged them with "wowing" the audience.

Costumes and props were pulled down from the theater’s collection, with a pressure gauge and smokestack placed on stage for the occasion. Off of the stage, a large steering wheel was placed in the center of the orchestra pit and a lounge area with couches, wine bottles and tacky lamps completed the scene house right. The whole theater became the ship with the tech. crew running the show from the "engine room" in the middle of the audience seating. Once the audience members entered the theater, they were immediately transformed into characters in the show, sitting in steerage class, along with the actors and crew.

The students and alumni performed in full melodramatic form, alongside enthusiastic gentlemen from the class of ’57. Audience participation was at a high as the cue card couples and the cast egged them on. The Jezebel sisters wound through the audience, drawing everyone into the plot, before the virtuous Herkimer was able to thwart the sinister Issaiah Flint bringing the show to its redemptive conclusion.

The show was an obvious success, as the audience left laughing and regaling the number of times they had seen the production. As the last audience member left, the cast wasn't nearly ready to give up their characters, and the tech. crew, which had an especially rewarding experience, was already deciding how they would improve upon their designs and effects next time.

Well, next time is now! Alumni Weekend 2008 will not be without a sailing of The Good Ship. Bob is coordinating the production once again, including choosing a technical team, actors, and blocking out the script.If you are interested in getting involved, email Bob Reed at reedart@sover.net or David Zimmerman at David.Zimmerman @stevens.edu.

Performance Information:
The Good Ship Pride of Communipaw Flats
Saturday,May 31, 2008 at 3:30pm
DeBaun Auditorium, Edwin A. Stevens Hall
Free to all to attend!