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Pictured, from left, are the members of Pipeline: Mike Babcock, Tyler Lucas, Sean Young and Kiah Clements.
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WIU's Pipeline Performs for Area Students

April 18, 2016

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MACOMB, IL - Nearly 1,000 area school children visited the COFAC Recital Hall April 13 to enjoy the unique, and often hilarious, performance of Pipeline.

Comprised of four WIU students, Mike Babcock, a junior theatre major from Joliet (IL); Tyler Lucas, a senior theatre major from Colchester (IL); Sean Young, a senior theatre major from Pontiac (IL); and Kiah Clements, a senior theater major from Rock Island (IL), the actors played recognizable songs using such tools as pancake flippers, a frying pan, plastic barrels and the Pipeline machine.

The Pipeline was originally created in 2006 by Jacob Thurman, and was updated by the WIU Scenic Shop this year, while maintaining its original integrity, in order to make the machine more sturdy and transportable.

The group took the show to Macomb's Lincoln Elementary School, playing for hundreds of first-third graders April 11.

The director of the Show, Professor DC Wright, along with musical director, Jacob Thurman (creator of the machine), auditioned students in the theatre department, hoping to find possible percussionists who could keep up with the very physical script, as well as play the instruments. The directors not only found a cast that was up to the task, but also introduced the first female member of Pipeline, with the addition of Clements.

Given the success of the show, Wright hopes to perform again the next two semesters.

For more information about the WIU Department of Theatre and Dance, visit wiu.edu/theatre.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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