by ALEKSANDRA LOZANOVA, Contributor

Manhattan College gives each year plenty of opportunities to all students who are interested in acting or directing. Anyone with a passion for or even a slight interest in theater is more than welcome to join Manhattan College Players, which is a student-led ensemble of actors and singers.

Manhattan College Players produce each year different types of plays and musicals as well. The auditions are held in the beginning of each semester and open to all students, alumni, faculty and staff members, who want to finesse their performance skills. There are also several opportunities for students to get involved in directing, backstage work and other aspects of theater.

Some of the productions that Manhattan College makes during the semester are the play readings. The passionate directors have their chance to make their own play, while the aspiring actors have the amazing opportunity to finesse their performance skills.

The final play reading for this semester will be held on May 3rd at 8:00 pm. The play is called “An Inspector Calls” and is directed by Sam Corby and Matt Peters, who both have a ton of directing experience.

“An Inspector Calls is a play by J.B. Priestley, about a sophisticated family in 1912 England that is visited by an Inspector and soon learns of the consequences to some of their actions,” Sam Corby said.

There will be eight players performing this play. Maria Summerville, a sophomore Civil Engineering student, is one of them. She has been in MC Players for a year now and has been in several previous productions including Legally Blonde and Rumors, as well. According to her the small cast of only 8 actors gives the show a sense of intimacy.

Maria Summerville, who is playing one of the main characters in the play, was more than happy to tell us a little bit about the plot of the play and about her own character as well.

“An Inspector Calls is a drama surrounding the wealthy Birling family, celebrating the engagement of their daughter Sheila. I play Sybil Birling, the mother of Sheila and her brother Eric, and wife of Arthur Birling. My character is very motivated by public image and social standing. The engagement dinner is interrupted by Inspector Goole, who arrives and interrogates the family in connection with a girl who has committed suicide. We learn throughout the play of each character’s connection to the woman,” Maria Summerville said.

All students are welcome to come and see the final play reading for the semester this Thursday.

“The audience can expect plot twists, intriguing revelations, and moral dilemmas. It will be a great evening and I’m very proud to be a part of it,” Maria Summerville said.