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WesternU Theater Troupe to Present ""Ten Little Indians""

by Rodney Tanaka

October 21, 1999

Read 2 mins

Performances of Agatha Christie’s mystery play “”Ten Little Indians”” will

be held at 7:30 p.m. November 12 and 13 at Western University of Health

Sciences (WesternU), 309 E. Second St., Pomona. Tickets are $5.

The theatrical production is being organized by SANUS, WesternU’s student

theater troupe. WesternU is the only health professions university in

Southern California with its own student theater group; SANUS was formed

in 1985 and took its name from the Latin word meaning “”soundness of mind,

emotions and behavior.”” The group organizes a stage performance each fall,

with past productions including the musical “”Pump Boys and Dinettes”” and

William Shakespeare’s “”A Midsummer Night’s Dream.””

“”Ten Little Indians”” is set in 1940 in England, and involves a cast of

eight guests who have been invited to an island residence for a weekend.

Also included in the play are two servants, a boat driver and a host.

Characters are killed off one by one in a variety of methods based on a

nursery rhyme of the same name. Everyone is a suspect in this suspenseful

play, which employs comedy and a surprise twist at the end.

Andrea Guagenti, a second-year medical student at WesternU, is the

director of this year’s SANUS group. She has acted in more than a dozen

plays and selected “”Ten Little Indians”” for this year’s WesternU

performance because of its wide-based appeal.

“”Agatha Christie is one of the most famous mystery writers of all time,

and this particular script is a really fun one to do,”” Guagenti said.

There are 12 cast members in the play; nine are students working toward

their doctor of osteopathic medicine degrees, one is a student in the

doctor of pharmacy degree program and two are associate professors. They

have rehearsed for about four hours each week since August.

“”The rehearsals give us a chance to think about something other than

studying; they’re really relaxing,”” said Guagenti. “”The majority of the

cast has never had the chance to act in a play before, but it’s something

that they’ve always wanted to try.””

Jeffrey Felton, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and a faculty

adviser for SANUS, is playing the part of the boat driver in the play. He

says the production provides an escape for medical students who spend

their days in classrooms and their evenings studying.

“”Rehearsing and performing a play enriches and adds fun to their lives,””

Dr. Felton said. “”The cast members put a lot of time into it, and really

get a chance to bond with each other.””

This year’s student cast members are: Olivia Bajor, Robin Donald, John

Dunlap, Mary Farid, Rebecca Giusti, Soham Jhaveri, Joe Marquez, Pedro

Sousa, Veko Vahamaki and Meiyun Yang. The student director is Andrea

Guagenti; faculty cast members are Jeffrey Felton, PhD, and Dennis Kiick,

PhD; the set designer is Pei Yuen Tang and costumes are being coordinated

by Jeanie Gillinta.

About 175 tickets are available for each night, and they go on sale

November 2. All proceeds go toward future SANUS productions. Last year’s

show, “”A Midsummer Night’s Dream”” sold out for all performances. For

ticket information, contact WesternU’s Events and Programs Department at

(909) 469-5626.

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