The Wit And Wisdom Of Theater Students

“Wit,” Margaret Edson’s play about a woman dying of cancer, gets new life
Thursday and Saturday, March 27 and 29, at 8 p.m. in Westmont’s Porter Theatre.
Performances of this senior production by Beth Segura are free and open to the
public.

Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for drama, “Wit” was first performed in 1995
and made into an HBO film starring Emma Thompson in 2001.

Segura stars in this production as Vivian Bearing, a scholar of John Donne’s
metaphysical poetry who is dying from ovarian cancer. “It is an incredibly
redemptive, funny, and heart-wrenching piece,” says Segura, who also directed the
production and designed the set. Consisting of several rolling hospital room dividers,
the simple construction transforms the space as Vivian recalls scenes from her life.

“I wanted the opportunity to play a character that would truly stretch and
challenge me,” says Segura, who most recently performed as Athena in Naomi
Iizuka’s “Anon(ymous).” “This play raises some very important thoughts and
questions about life, death and salvation.”

The play also features Tyler Leivo, Laurie Niesen, and Johnathan Hayward.

After graduating in May, Segura hopes to pursue a career in acting.

For more information, please contact Beth Lemons in the theater department at
(805)565-7140 or blemons@westmont.edu.