The Air Loom, the Kent State University at Tuscarawas 2017 Spring Student Production, will be performed April 8 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and April 9 at 2 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 or $5 with student ID and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center Box Office, which is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 pm. The box office phone is 330-308-6400. The production contains content not suitable for small children.
Written by Jim Azelvandre, the play was inspired by the real life story of James Tilly Matthews, a London tea broker and the first ever documented paranoid schizophrenic. He believes there is political conspiracy to control the minds of the entire county and push it over the brink of war through the use of an air loom.
Azelvandre is an Ohio native who is the artistic director of MadLab Theatre in Columbus.
Assistant Professor of Theatre Bill Auld directs the play, which draws a hint of inspiration from the steampunk aesthetic. The cast is comprised of the following students: Jacob Romeo as Tilly, Michael Antonelli as Bill the King, Maleah McGuire as Mag the School Mistress, Rachel Roth as Sir Archy and Heather Luxemburg as Charlotte. Alumni cast members include Karli Conventry as Dr. H and Alyssa Wallace as The Glove Woman.