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This year’s show has been announced as “Check, Please” by Johnathon Rand.
@MCPLAYERSINSTAGRAM/COURTESY

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By Anna Segota, Staff Writer

This year’s student slot performance has been announced as “Check, Please” continuing Manhattan College’s yearly theater showcase. The student slot is a yearly theater production run and performed by students at the college, with everyone from the actors and director to stage crew being current undergraduate students. It is a staple of the performing arts program, allowing participants to get hands-on experience on and behind the stage. 

This year’s show, “Check, Please” is a one-act play by Johnathan Rand and

features a series of comedic vignettes about a cast of wacky characters going on first dates with a couple who decided to part ways. It is being directed by senior Teresa Nunan, who has been involved with theater throughout her time here at Manhattan College and currently holds the position of producer on the Players board. 

Nunan had her directorial debut earlier this year, organizing a staged reading 

of “The Secretaries” in October last semester. She had read the play in both her freshman and junior years and had been inspired to bring it to life. Although the staged reading was not a full production, it was still a hit, utilizing props such as fake blood to elevate the performance. 

“It was almost like an appetizer into directing,” Nunan said. “ I got to do the 

blocking and working with the actors, but it was very condensed into two weeks… I’m happy to say that a lot of people really enjoyed and had a lot of fun with The Secretaries, and we got a lot of  people to audition for the student slot.”

“Check, Please” is different from other student slots as the vignettes and 

scenes in the show are extremely quick, which Nunan has taken a different approach than previous directors to address.  

“Instead of 10 minute scenes, we’re doing two to three minute scenes,” Nunan said. “So I think the challenge is not making it drag between the vignettes and transitions…the goal is to keep the blocking quick, we don’t want it to drag.”

While the show’s speed is a trial for the actors and the stagehands, this fast-paced style attracts certain students to audition and get involved with the performance. 

Junior Landen Scofield stars as Guy, one of the two main characters who go through many unsuccessful dates throughout the play. 

“I thought it’d just be fun and interesting because each character is so bizarre,” Scofield said. “It seems more open, you can do more improv and stuff that you wouldn’t be able to with just a regular show.” 

Like most clubs, the Players have been impacted by recent budget cuts, though the cast of “Check, Please” maintain a positive outlook. The Manhattan College Players have been fundraising throughout the year to keep putting on performances, like the student slot, and have raised upwards of $2,000 on GoFundMe alone. 

“I also think the student slot is the perfect thing for the Players right now 

because it doesn’t require as big of a budget,” Annie Brennan, a junior serving as the production’s stage manager said. “The student slot itself has always been less involved than, say, the spring musical.”

Rehearsals for the production began this past week. “Check, Please” is set to be performed on the weekend of March 1. The tickets will be released on the Player’s Instagram page, @mcplayers in the upcoming weeks.