The Columbia College Theater Department kicked off its season with the “Plasticine Workshop” (Oct. 16-25), a production involving the Plasticine Ensemble and the department’s Assistant Chair, Brian Shaw.

Though the show has finished its run, there are plenty of other shows in this season’s line-up that will undoubtedly appeal to the Columbia masses.

Opening Nov. 15 is “Dead End” by Sydney Kingsley. It takes place in the 1930s and involves a mirage of sinister but loveable characters. They include escaped murderer “Baby Face” Martin and a bunch of tenement kids with no place to go. The show runs until Nov. 22, and is directed by faculty member David Cromer.

“Your Own Thing,” which opens Dec. 13, is a rock-musical based loosely on Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” written by Hal Hester, Danny Apolinar, and Donald Driver. The show should be entertaining for those who don’t hold Shakespeare’s work as sacred, and have a secret love for “Laugh-In,” lava lamps, and love triangles.

Kicking off next semester (opening Feb. 28) is the Theodore Ward African-

American Playwriting Contest winner. Last year’s show was “Black Caesar,” a play about a journalistic investigation into the life of a recently deceased fictional African-American newspaper writer and his impact on those he worked with. This year’s winner has not yet been announced.

On March 21, Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” will find its way into the Getz Theatre. The story is a classic Shakespearean comedy involving mistaken identity, love triangles, drunks, and long-lost relatives. Featuring Tom Mula (Artist-In-Residence) as Malvolio and Henry Godinez (Artist-In-Residence) and Sheldon Patinkin (Department Chair) as directors, the show promises not to disappoint.

The final play of the season, “Roundheads and Peakheads,” by Bertolt Brecht, opens April 25. This play takes us to Brecht’s imaginary world where people are discriminated against based on the shapes of their heads. The show is directed by faculty member Joann Shapiro and runs until May 2.

In addition to the mainstage plays, student directors are continually cranking out their own shows. Some of those being produced this semester include Woody Allen’s “Don’t Drink the Water” and Neil Simon’s “Private Lives.”

Tickets are always cheap for students, and it’s important for the actors to look out onto a full audience. All performances take place at the 11th Street Campus (Michigan Ave. and 11th St.).