One hotel room, four shades of comedy.
That’s the tagline for Kellogg Community College’s one-weekend-only production of Neil Simon’s “California Suite,” which runs Thursday through Sunday on campus in Battle Creek.
The 1976 comedy is a collection of four one-act plays set in the same hotel room in the 1970s. It was later adapted into a movie by the same name.
KCC showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16, Friday, March 17, and Saturday, March 18, and 3 p.m. Sunday, March 19, at the Binda Performing Arts Center, on campus at 450 North Ave. Tickets are $10 for KCC students and employees and $15 for the general public.
Theatre professor and KCC Theatre Program Coordinator Brad Poer said that “while all are classified as comedies, the tone ranges from more serious emotional character studies with wit and one-liners throughout to more chaotic slapstick farce.”
There is some “PG-13-ish” language throughout, he said, so some parental discretion in advised.
Poer said “California Suite” was selected as the College’s spring-semester production as a kind of mirror to the camp and edginess of “The Rocky Horror Show,” which was performed in the fall. It also provides an opportunity for four KCC Theatre veterans to get some directorial experience, as each one-act will be associate directed by a former KCC Theatre student.
“Actors thrive when they learn to work with different styles and delivery of direction,” Poer, who usually directs KCC Theatre productions himself, said. “For this production I’m serving under the banner of Production Director and acting as a sounding board/mentor and as a producer of the show overall, and the four veterans are serving as Associate Directors, each in charge of the vision and communication for each individual one-act.”
Biographies of each associate director follow.
Khaliid Canales-King, 29, of Kalamazoo
Associate Director of “The Visitors from New York”
Canales-King started participating in KCC Theater in 2011 before transferring to Western Michigan University for the BFA acting program in 2013. He has participated in multiple shows with KCC in the past, including Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” He is currently working for Public Media Network in Kalamazoo while producing an online sketch comedy series called “What’sUpNext?” with help from other KCC alumni.
Hunter King, 23, of Kalamazoo
Associate Director of “The Visitors from Chicago”
King has been performing with KCC Theatre since 2013. He attended dual enrollment courses at KCC in high school before attending Western Michigan University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Secondary Education degree in English in 2022. King has performed in several KCC Theatre productions in the past, including “The Nerd,” “Loserville” and, most recently, “The Rocky Horror Show.” He currently is a ninth grade English teacher at Battle Creek Central High School and works locally with organizations such as What A Do Theatre and the Battle Creek Community Foundation.
Patrick Lucas, 33, of Battle Creek
Associate Director of “The Visitors from Philadelphia”
Lucas graduated from KCC with Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees in 2016. Lucas has performed in many productions at KCC, including “The Pirates of Penzance,” “Loserville” and “The Bomb-itty of Errors.” These days Lucas spends his time singing baritone in the Kellogg Singers choir and streaming on Twitch under the name Patback2DaFuture, where he has amassed a dedicated following.
Seth Allred, 22, of Battle Creek
Associate Director of “The Visitors from London”
Allred graduated from KCC with Associate in Arts and Associate in International Studies degrees in 2019. He transferred to Western Michigan University where he graduated with a degree in Spanish and English Education in 2022. Allred has performed in several KCC productions in the past, including “Our Town,” “All in the Timing” and “The Rocky Horror Show.” Additionally, Allred served as the vice president of Encore Theatre Company, KCC’s student-run theatre club. In 2019, during his time as a student, he performed in and served as a producer of Encore’s production of “Kill Me Deadly.”
“While each associate director has their own voice and style of interacting with the script and the actors, all are approaching the project under the general philosophy of kindness, curiosity, empathic practice and informal passion that underlies all KCC Theatre productions,” Poer said.
For more information, contact Poer at poerb@kellogg.edu. Ticket reservations can be made through the KCC Theatre Box Office at 269-965-4154.
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