HN
Hannah Nilsson
  • Music
  • Class of 2018
  • Ledyard, CT

Eastern Student Hannah Nilsson Helps Bring 'Little Women' to Main Stage

2017 Dec 8

The theatre program at Eastern Connecticut State University presented the holiday classic "Little Women" from Nov. 28-Dec. 3. The play took place in the intimate venue of Eastern's DelMonte Bernstein Studio Theatre, with a special emphasis on being "sensory-friendly" for audience members with spectrum disorders.

Among the participants was Hannah Nilsson '18 of Ledyard, who was a pianist. Nilsson majors in Music.

Written by novelist Louisa May Alcott in the 1860s and adapted by playwright Marisha Chamberlain, "Little Women" follows four sisters with a father who is off to war during the Christmas season. The March girls face a number of challenges on their New England home front: Jo desperately wants to fill the void left by the man of the house; Beth struggles with the shyness that keeps her close to home; a secret admirer watches Meg from afar; and no force on earth will keep Amy from her destiny.

Unlike most Main Stage productions at Eastern, which take place in the Proscenium Theatre, "Little Women" occurred in the smaller venue of the studio theatre. "As a family-driven script, we wanted audiences to feel embraced by the warmth of the March home, and the studio theatre is more conducive to that," said the play's director and Theatre Professor J.J. Cobb, reflecting on the venue with seating immediately adjacent to the stage.

Eastern's rendition of "Little Women" was meant to be accessible to audience members with spectrum disorders - any mental condition that occurs on a "spectrum" and manifests at different degrees of severity. "Often people with these conditions are unable to attend live theatre," explained Cobb, adding that the production's sensory-friendly components included adjustments to the lighting, sound and seating arrangements.