Fuse Productions’ ‘Seminar’ is back by popular demand

Part of Fuse Productions’ 2013 Contemporary Play Reading Series that received an impressive response will return to the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center starting Feb. 18.

“Seminar,” a provocative comedy from Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck, focuses on four aspiring young novelists who sign up for private writing classes with Leonard, an international literary figure. The show is directed by Dan Carter, director of the Penn State School of Theatre.

Under Leonard’s recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some students thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a weapon and hearts are unmoored. The wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious as innocence collides with experience in this biting Broadway comedy.

Wil Hutton, a local actor who has appeared in many shows with just about every theater company in town, will be playing the famous author, Leonard — a role originated by Alan Rickman on Broadway. Hutton played the role in Fuse Productions’ reading of the show in 2013.

“Leonard is the teacher who tells his students uncomfortable, unwelcome truths about themselves,” Hutton said. “Leonard inserts himself into the students’ lives and is quite a complex character in his own right. He has no problem at all telling his students exactly what he thinks — of their work and of them personally.”

Hutton first encountered this piece a couple of years ago, when Fuse Productions Producing Artistic Director Richard Biever organized a public reading of the script in the Attic at The State Theatre.

“We loved it, the audience loved it, and Rich and I agreed that we needed to get this thing on its feet someday,” he said. “That day having finally arrived, the process now is one of finding something new in the material every day — something I never realized was there.”

“Seminar” is a contemporary, fast-moving comedy about a group of young writers trying to find their way and make their name in New York City. In her first show with Fuse Productions, Anastasia Davidson plays the role of Kate, a privileged, native New Yorker with a fierce personality, big dreams and a lot of heart.

Also included in the cast are Courtney Brown as Izzy, James McCready as Martin and Jacob Tarconish as Douglas.

Originally from New England, Davidson attended Bucknell University, where she studied theater, mathematics and history. She has since worked in theaters in New York City and Pennsylvania and is now a third year master’s acting candidate at Penn State.

Davidson said that Kate is extremely intelligent, but also very down-to-earth and relatable.

“She’s a strong woman who is artistic and proud, but floundering as she tries to find the right path for herself in her personal life as well as her career,” Davidson said. “It’s a tough balance and she struggles with it in a very human way. And throughout these challenges, she turns to food, which I can definitely connect with.”

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Fuse Productions’ ‘Seminar’ is back by popular demand."