HWS News
13 February 2025 HWS Theatre Presents: "Airness"
In the world of competitive air guitar there is one big question: will you shred or be shredded?
HWS Theatre’s 2024-2025 season continues with Airness by Chelsea Marcantel. The show will run Thursday, Feb. 20 and Friday, 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the McDonald Theatre of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.
It’s a new season of competitive air guitar and reigning national champ D. Vicious, played by Andrew Milliman ’26, must defend his title. Newcomer Nina, portrayed by Izzy Huelgas ’25, dives into this world and soon discovers that playing an invisible guitar is much harder than it seems. As competitors travel coast to coast, Nina discovers the pillars of air guitar and forges friendships with a quirky group of performers including Shreddy Eddy, Facebender and Golden Thunder, played by Nathaniel Phillips ’26, Aaron Vicioso ’26 and Kevin “KJ” Johnson, respectively. As secrets are revealed, tensions run high, especially between Nina and Cannibal Queen, portrayed by Derrielle Faulkner ’25. Which of these performers will achieve airness and go on to represent the U.S. at the World Championships? It could be anyone as Golden Thunder asserts, “Everything we need to rock is already inside us.”
Airness features original 60-second cuts of iconic music by Guns ’n Roses, Quiet Riot, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Bon Jovi and more. Cassie J. Sneider, owner of Total Recall 315, a vintage toy store and arcade in downtown Geneva, appears as Announcer and Sprite Executive. A former competitor at the National Air Guitar Championships, Sneider has served as the air guitar consultant and coach on the production.
“I wanted our production to give our audience a taste of air guitar’s potential for transformation,” says Professor of Theatre Chris Woodworth, the director. “The stage is in the round and we’ve sprinkled different types of seating into the mix so that the boundaries between stage and audience feel more porous. Audience members may be seated somewhere that feels like the green room at an air guitar qualifier or a bar table adjacent to the air guitar stage. We’re all in this magical air guitar world together and maybe that experience will inspire audience members to take a chance on a performance of their own one day—air guitar, karaoke, or heck, an HWS Theatre production!”
Woodworth met Sneider two years ago where Woodworth discovered Sneider’s participation in the National Air Guitar Championship.
“That was the night the seeds for this production were planted,” says Woodworth. “I knew there was a play about competitive air guitar and I half-joked that we’d bring her on as a consultant for the production. Here we are, two years later, and our actors can rock the air guitar thanks to Cassie’s patient and inspiring coaching.”
Vicioso, a studio art major who performs as Facebender, says the audience may be surprised with how much heart and depth the show contains. “It’s not just about playing pretend guitar,” he says. “It’s about passion and community.”
Airness can also “remind us that sometimes the stuff that feels the most silly and wacky is usually the most meaningful,” Vicioso says.
Faulkner, a theatre production major who portrays the Cannibal Queen, also says that Airness shows "the impact and importance of self-expression and the power of an individual's story."
The set was designed by Ed Hallborg and the students in the Fall 2024 "Introduction to Stagecraft" course. Hallborg is also Lighting Designer and Technical Director for the production. Kelly Walker is Sound Designer and Katharine Tarkulich designed costumes. Lauren Davidson '26 is the show’s Stage Manager and Ky Apple ’26, Ada Bastedo ’27, Dee Gilner ’26 and Quinn DeRosa ’28 are the Assistant Stage Managers.
Tom Fahey '27 is the understudy for Shreddy Eddy.
Tickets are free and can be reserved here. Online ticket reservations close two hours before each performance. Remaining tickets will be available at the Box Office, one hour before each performance. Please check in at the Box Office when you arrive in the Gearan Center. Doors open half an hour before each performance. Seating is General Admission. In the event of a sold-out performance, a waiting list will be created. Free parking is available in the Medbery North Visitor Parking Lot.
Please note: This production features adult content and language and is not recommended for young audiences.
