Township girl finds her moment to shine from behind the scenes

Last Updated on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 06:28 pm Written by Laura Stetser Wednesday, September 12, 2012 01:00 am

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – Randi Hickey, a senior at chARTer-Tech High School in Somers Point and a resident of Egg Harbor Township, will make her debut as writer, director and producer of the upcoming play called “See You in Paris,” to be performed at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept.15 and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16 at the Second Stage Theatre at the Adrienne in Philadelphia.

 “Now that it’s down to the wire, I am getting a little nervous,” she said in a phone interview from school on Tuesday, Sept. 11. “But it’s going to be a great show; we’ve got great actors.”

 “See You in Paris” is a story of “friendship, letting go and undying adventure” according to the official description.

 The story follows the tale of Viviana, a patient who is admitted to the hospital for seizures, as she meets Cash, her nurse. The two instantly become friends and each other’s escape.

 “They become best friends and love interests. They help each other. Cash helps her with her seizures, and Viviana helps him with stress in his personal life.”  

 Hickey created the production along with her friend Jenna Lam, a senior at Creative and Performing Arts High School in Philadelphia.

 “We met last summer at during a playwriting class at the University of the Arts where Jenna wrote a one-act play. We found a scholarship that we wanted to apply for and started building on that and made it a two-act play. We missed the deadline, but wanted to keep moving forward with it,” she said.

 After the girls completed a final edit, they had to advertise the casting call, hold auditions and call-backs and cast the four actors who will appear in the play.

 “See You in Paris” is part of the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe, an annual event held from Sept.7-22.  The festival features 16 days of premiers and juried and nonjuried works in mediums ranging from the spoken word and theater to music and visual arts.

Hickey said she hopes people will come out to watch her play and the other performances and exhibits in the festival.

 “This is a great project to support young artists,” she said. “It allows us to get our feet wet in this profession, and young people are the future of art.”

 Tickets to Hickey’s show are $10 in advance or $13 at the door and can be purchased at livearts-fringe.ticketleap.com/see-you-in-paris

 Hickey lives in the township with her parents Harry and Theresa Hickey.