Fairfield University senior's new production company to debut multimedia project - Opening April 25 at the Quick Center for the Arts | Press Releases

An original play that integrates the mediums of theater and film and uses the talents of an Equity professional company supplemented by superb Fairfield University student actors will premiere on April 25 at the Wien Experimental Theatre at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on the Fairfield University campus. "The One Stoplight in Hollis" is the brainchild of senior Jared Mezzocchi who doesn't graduate until May but already has his own production company, Pienocchi Production in Fairfield, Conn. The show plays Wednesday-Friday, April 25-27 at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 28 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 29 at noon.

Mezzocchi, who has a double major in theater and new media, had the distinction this year of earning an $8,000 grant from Fairfield's Humanities Institute, an honor usually reserved for faculty. He has used the grant money to realize a project he has worked on for seven years, "The One Stoplight in Hollis," in which the main character, Michael, seamlessly moves from live action onstage to film and back.

The story draws on Mezzocchi's own family background - he was raised in Hollis, New Hampshire - and portrays a father who has died and been given the opportunity to watch and experience the happiest moment of his life. As the play develops, Michael struggles with myriad choices as he seeks to find a way to connect with the loved ones he left behind.

Rev. James Mayzik, S.J., director of the new media program at Fairfield University commends Mezzocchi's work and identifies the elements that make this production stand out, "Jared's project brings together his creativity and expertise in both theater and film and by merging these components, he pioneers the first joint endeavor of our theater and new media programs."

Dr. Martha LoMonaco, professor of theater concurs and acknowledges that, "Jared is the first student to pursue a joint new media and theater degree that actually melds the two disciplines."

Mezzocchi tells his story stressing that he uses "a more abstract perspective of the afterlife and of time itself." And as his time as an undergraduate at Fairfield University draws to a close, he can derive satisfaction from his achievement of a degree with honors and in knowing he has completed the first production of his new company, Pienocchi Production.

Tickets are $12 adults, $10 all students, seniors, children and Fairfield University faculty and staff. The tickets are available online at www.quickcenter.com or by calling (203) 254-4010. The toll free number is 1-877-ARTS-396. For further information, please visit the website at www.quickcenter.com.