Janice Fronczak
UNK Department of Music and Performing Arts, 308-865-8670
NOTE TO MEDIA: There will be a press preview for “Corn Man” on Monday, Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m. Media are invited to attend this dress rehearsal. This will be the only opportunity to take photos of the production.
UNK– An ear of corn leaves the stalk on a journey of self-discovery and comes across many characters in the University of Nebraska at Kearney production of “Corn Man,” which opens Wednesday, Oct. 6, on the campus.
The performance is the premier for “Corn Man,” which was written in 2001 by Janice Fronczak, UNK associate professor of theater. In 2005, “Corn Man” was selected to be performed in Hawaii at the International Conference on Arts and Humanities.
“The stage script was used for the performance in Hawaii, because the play wasn’t quite finished,” Fronczak said. “This will be the first fully realized production of the play.” Fronczak got the idea for the play after being lost in Nebraska.
“I was new to Nebraska and the Midwest, and I was driving around and got lost in the corn fields,” Fronczak said. “I started wondering what it would be like if an ear of corn wanted to leave, and that’s how the idea of ‘Corn Man’ formed.”
According to Fronczak, “Corn Man” centers on a disgruntled ear of corn who escapes from the corn field and embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Along the way, he meets a number of colorful characters including Potato Man, She-Corn Man, the Stranger and his own creator, the Playwright.
“It’s definitely a comedy, but it has romance in it,” Fronczak said. “My idea was to combine all the genres, so there is drama, comedy, music and more.”
Jordan Peterson, a junior music education major from O’Neill, is playing the lead role of Corn Man. Peterson has been in four productions at UNK.
“The audience can expect to see a great new play that really has a little bit of everything, from really truthful moments to some of the funniest moments I’ve been a part of in a show,” Peterson said.
“Corn Man” performances will be Wednesday-Saturday, Oct. 6-9, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 10, at 2 p.m., in the Fine Arts Studio Theatre, located on the lower level in the UNK Fine Arts Building. Admission is free to UNK students; $7 for adults; and $5 for UNK faculty/staff, non-UNK students and seniors. For tickets, or for more information, contact the box office at 308.865.8417 or boxoffice@unk.edu.
The production is being supported, in part, by a grant from Nebraska-based Reinke Irrigation.
Members of the cast are listed below, alphabetically by hometown:
CRAWFORD– Colter Lemmon, Stranger
DAVID CITY– Megan Buresh, Stalk #3
JUNIATA– Addison Heeren, Stalk #6/stage hand
KEARNEY– Kyle Kuypers, Stalk #1/C.T., and Natalie Potts Burling, publisher/waitress
LINCOLN– Nate Rocke, Stalk #2/Busher, and Spencer Wolfe, Playwright
OMAHA– Rachael Hill, Stalk #4/driver
O’NEILL– Jordan Peterson, Corn Man
ORD– Ryan Hruza, Potato Man
PALISADE– JoanAnn Blomstedt, She-Corn Man
WINSIDE– Kyle Mundil, Stalk #5
The stage crew is listed below, alphabetically by hometown.
AXTELL– Kassandra Wendell, properties designer
FALLS CITY– Kelsey Coolidge, stage manager
OUT OF STATE
KANSAS
MANHATTAN– Carolyn Wirtz, costume designer
INTERNATIONAL
JAPAN
GUNMA– Yuka Ito, assistant stage manager
