Use the Farce
Some students take a break from studying when they’re feeling overly stressed. SANUS students at Western University of Health Sciences have a unique outlet: the stage.
SANUS will perform the Christmas farce "Sorry! Wrong Chimney!” on April 18-19. The humor serves as a perfect balance for this time of year, said Mariko Ferronato, DO ’10, president of SANUS and director of the show.
“I feel at the end of school year, people are so tired that physical comedy is a good stress release,” she said.
SANUS bills itself as the world’s only osteopathic theater troupe. Other groups might perform skits, Ferronato said, but SANUS is the only medical student group to her knowledge that puts on full-length productions. The club also welcomes students from other disciplines.
Students have already put a lot of time into the production. Ferronato pitched the script last summer and auditions took place in January. They rehearse twice a week.
“We understand school comes first,” Ferronato said. “It’s really important to maintain balance in life. This is a way to step back from the intense world of being a medical student.”
Even when students get together outside of class, they inevitably end up talking about school, said Beth Card, DO ’10, who plays “Natalie” in “Sorry! Wrong Chimney!” But for the two or three hours a day they work on the play, they aren’t talking about school at all, she said.
“I personally have to have human interaction,” Card said. “I can’t sit at home and read books all the time. This makes me a better student. It’s another outlet to interact with people.”
Working on the play allows students to connect with each other with something besides medicine, said Sumeet Anand, DO’10, assistant director and SANUS treasurer.
“You would think there’s no room for something like this,” he said. “This is one great little surprise in life. You get to touch the other side of your brain, the other side of your spirit.”
Performing in the play allows her to become someone else for a little while, said Mariam Keramati, DO ’11, who plays “Samantha” in the production. She has never acted before, but does have stage experience singing in a choir and dancing ballet as a child.
“I wanted to build up more confidence in myself, to be more comfortable speaking in front of people,” Keramati said. “I think it will help in my medical career.”
"Sorry! Wrong Chimney!"
A Yuletide Farce
By Jack Sharkey and Leo W. Sears
Produced by Special Arrangement with Samuel French Inc.
Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 19
Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Performance starts at 8 p.m.
Amphitheater II, Health Professions Center
Tickets: $10 presale or $12 at the door
Tickets are available from noon to 1 p.m. daily through Friday at the bottom of the stairs in HPC.
