Theater performances focus on health issues

UIndy’s Department of Theatre has a great season planned for the coming year, but two productions on campus over the next few days are connected instead to the College of Health Sciences.

Friday night brings Tangles, a unique stage musical about a family’s experience with Alzheimer’s disease. The play is part of the national conference on physical therapy and aging taking place this week at UIndy.

The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Ransburg Auditorium, with a discussion to follow at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person and may be purchased at the door or in advance at this link, which also has more details on the story.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dr. Sally Wasmuth of the School of Occupational Therapy will premiere a sequel of sorts to the theater-as-therapy project she staged in June. Modified, the new play by local writer Ben Asaykwee, features a cast of seven people in substance-abuse recovery who signed on for the six-week project as an alternative to group therapy or other more conventional approaches to maintaining sobriety.

The performances begin at 7 p.m. each night in UIndy’s Studio Theatre, located in the lower level of Esch Hall, and each will be followed by a 15-minute discussion session with the players. Admission is free and open to the public.