(Posted February 18, 2003)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The children's theatre production "Androcles and the Lion" will be performed at Juniata College Feb. 20-22 at Rosenberger Auditorium in Oller Hall on the Juniata campus.

The production, which is suitable for children and families, will be staged Thursday and Friday, Feb. 20 and 21, at 7 and 9 p.m. On Saturday, Feb. 22, the play will have a 2 p.m. family matinee and another performance at 7 p.m.

Tickets for all performances are available at the information desk in the Ellis College Center lobby or at the door before each night's performances. Tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 for students. For tickets, please call (814) 641-3333.

"Androcles and the Lion" is a theatrical adaptation of the classic Aesop's fable of a traveler removing a thorn from the paw of a lion. The Juniata production, adapted from several versions of the tale, will stage the story among the members of a traveling theatrical troupe who use masks in their productions. The troupe meets up with the lion in the course of their travels.

The production will be directed by John Teacher, technical director and manager of Oller Hall. "The play takes place in a life-size shadow puppet theater," Teacher says of the production. "We're staging it traditionally but there will be an extension on the stage to bring the production out into the audience."

Before coming to Juniata College, Teacher worked as technical director of the City of Dublin Theater in Dublin, Ohio. He also worked at Greater Latrobe Senior High School in Latrobbe, Pa. as drama director and set and scenic designer.

Juniata students in the cast are: Taro Shibuya, a junior from Tokyo, Japan; Paul Blore, a sophomore from Philadelphia; Lauren Beasley, a junior from Jamison, Pa.; Sean Waddle, a junior from Huntingdon, Pa.; Katherine Laucks, a freshman from York, Pa.; Brandi Martin, a junior from Warren Pa.; and Marcela Diaz Castro, an international student from Lomas Del Marmol, Mexico.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.