If you go ...
• WHAT: "Love's Confetti"
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday
• WHERE: 910 16th Ave.
• COST: $15
CHARITABLE CAUSE: 20 percent of ticket sales go toward the local Sexual Assault Recovery Program to help victims of abuse.
MONROE - When you name a play "Love's Confetti," you'd better make sure that at least love is in the air.
It certainly was for Stephen and Katee Eliasson back in October, as they tossed around ideas for a play while celebrating a wedding anniversary.
"We were trying to come up with something and, since it was our anniversary, we thought "How about love?'" said Stephen Eliasson.
The idea seemed even more meant to be when he called the Monroe Theatre Guild to inquire about open dates for his production.
"I was told "The only time we have available is Valentine's weekend,'" he said. "I thought how perfect that was for the theme."
Rehearsal for the play, which runs Friday through Sunday, began five weeks ago. Co-directed by Eliasson and David Bristow, it will feature a series of vignettes compiled by Eliasson that tell the story of love over the course of time. Beginning with a clothed Adam and Eve, the journey includes everything from the kid-friendly "Dork Diaries" to old-time memories of love from the 1958 musical "Gigi."
Among the more moving presentations are the reading of love letters by a Civil War soldier, passionate poems by Emily Dickinson and the intimate writings of Anne Frank.
Meanwhile, classic love songs will be performed by Tracy Bristow, and a classical Indian dance, showing the love between mother and child, will be performed by Akshaya Janardhanan.
Suggesting the play as a good alternative to chocolates and flowers, Eliasson at a minimum promises you'll pick up some good love lines to use as needed.
As for the title, he hints it will lead to a fun surprise - and he was surprised to learn that confetti was an Italian word meaning "little sweets."
"We can't tell you everything there is to know about love," he said, "but we can certainly share little bits of it with you."
Keeping his love for movement acting sharp in recent years by teaching classes that include sword fighting, this weekend's show is the first for Eliasson since he and his wife were given the massive task of spearheading the city's sesquicentennial play in 2008.
"We had pretty much just arrived here, so it was quite an introduction to Monroe," he said of the play and its 110-person cast. "This time around it has been much more relaxing."
It certainly was for Stephen and Katee Eliasson back in October, as they tossed around ideas for a play while celebrating a wedding anniversary.
"We were trying to come up with something and, since it was our anniversary, we thought "How about love?'" said Stephen Eliasson.
The idea seemed even more meant to be when he called the Monroe Theatre Guild to inquire about open dates for his production.
"I was told "The only time we have available is Valentine's weekend,'" he said. "I thought how perfect that was for the theme."
Rehearsal for the play, which runs Friday through Sunday, began five weeks ago. Co-directed by Eliasson and David Bristow, it will feature a series of vignettes compiled by Eliasson that tell the story of love over the course of time. Beginning with a clothed Adam and Eve, the journey includes everything from the kid-friendly "Dork Diaries" to old-time memories of love from the 1958 musical "Gigi."
Among the more moving presentations are the reading of love letters by a Civil War soldier, passionate poems by Emily Dickinson and the intimate writings of Anne Frank.
Meanwhile, classic love songs will be performed by Tracy Bristow, and a classical Indian dance, showing the love between mother and child, will be performed by Akshaya Janardhanan.
Suggesting the play as a good alternative to chocolates and flowers, Eliasson at a minimum promises you'll pick up some good love lines to use as needed.
As for the title, he hints it will lead to a fun surprise - and he was surprised to learn that confetti was an Italian word meaning "little sweets."
"We can't tell you everything there is to know about love," he said, "but we can certainly share little bits of it with you."
Keeping his love for movement acting sharp in recent years by teaching classes that include sword fighting, this weekend's show is the first for Eliasson since he and his wife were given the massive task of spearheading the city's sesquicentennial play in 2008.
"We had pretty much just arrived here, so it was quite an introduction to Monroe," he said of the play and its 110-person cast. "This time around it has been much more relaxing."