The ISU Theatre 2014-15 season marks the hundredth anniversary of organized theatre at Iowa State University. That was when Fredrica V. Shattuck organized a group of interested students and formed Iowa State Players. ISU Theatre’s opener, “Spring Awakening,” first performed under heavy censorship in Germany in 1906. “Spring Awakening” closed after just one night in New York in 1917 amid public outrage and charges of obscenity.

The story traces the dawning sexual awareness of four teenagers, Melchior, Moritz, Wendla, and Hanschen, who, in their painfully funny contradictions—-they are at once too innocent and not remotely innocent at all-—remain fresh and unsettling even in our own sex-saturated culture.

Stacy Hansen

“Spring Awakening” features as guest director Exira native and ISU alum Stacy Hansen, who graduated from Iowa State in 1992 with a degree in speech communication/theatre and education. Also appearing in the production is: Taylor Sklenar , a senior in performing arts, English, and chemistry from Treynor; Christopher Tedford, who is a senior in engineering from Cumberland;Emily Tigges, a senior in performing arts from Carroll, and Austin Farwell, a senior in performing arts from Council Bluffs.

Iowa State University Theatre’s production of “Spring Awakening” opens on Friday, October 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Fisher Theatre in the Iowa State Center.

Chris Tedford

Other performance dates are October 4, 10, and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and October 5 and 12 at 2 p.m. in Fisher Theater, Ames. The production features mature themes, sexual situations, and explicit language. Tickets are priced at $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, and $11 for students. Tickets can be purchased through any TicketMaster, the Iowa State Center Ticket Office in Ames, or at the door before performances.