The SHSU department of theatre and dance will explore mob mentality, the AIDS epidemic and events that occur during two British periods with the presentation of its Summer II Repertory Theatre.

The four productions will take place Aug. 1-8 at 8 p.m. each evening in the University Theatre Center’s Showcase Theatre.

Presented Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 1-2), “The Stonewater Rapture” “takes a hard look at the problems found by all young people in a world ruled by mob mentality and the use of religion as an ineffective tool in managing the effects of bullying and sexual assault, according to theatre manager Kandice Harris.

Directed by junior theatre major Joey Wooden, the play stars Aaron Gaines as Whitney and Adrian Anderson as Carlyle. The stage manager is Angela Bell, and the lighting designer for all four productions is Carrie Barton.

On Monday and Tuesday (Aug. 3-4), the department will present a “wild take on an Elizabethan farce” based on the lurid accounts of one of the most sensational murders in English history.

“Ardy Fafirsin” is the story of a young wife who attempts to murder her devoted and unsuspecting older husband.

The cast includes Ashtyn Sonner, Jack Ivy, John Ryan Del Bosque and Carlos Salinas, as well as Angela Bell, Lindsey Edwards, Justin Finch, Michael Keeney, Patrick Massey, Jarell Rochelle, Lauren Smith and Omar Jose Torrez Vasquez.

The production is directed by senior musical theatre major Sam Weeks, with senior theatre major Faith Looten serving as stage manager.

Three intrepid Victorian female explorers will go “On the Verge” on Wednesday and Thursday (Aug. 5-6).

Set out to discover a new, unexplored land—Terra Incognita—Mary, Fanny and Alex realize that they are traveling through time and begin actively, and often fruitlessly, trying to absorb knowledge and understand all the information that comes to them from the future.

The production stars Ashtyn Sonner, Adena Nelson and Krissy Larson and is directed by senior theatre major Mitchell Greco, with theatre major Veronica LaCombe as stage manager.

Finally, the week of plays will end with Friday and Saturday productions of “Lonely Planet,” an exploration of the nature of friendship and responsibility and the obligations humans have for one another told through the perspective of a man who seals himself away from the outside world at the height of the AIDS epidemic.

The play, an independent project written by Steven Dietz, stars Zach Lewis and Garrett Storms.

It is directed by SHSU theatre and dance department chair Penelope Hasekoester, with senior theatre major Faith Looten serving as stage manager.

Tickets are $5 at the door and will not be sold prior to the performance dates. Parking is available behind the Newton Gresham Library, and a golf cart service will be provided.

All shows contain adult language and content; therefore, children under the age of three will not be admitted. All shows run approximately two hours.

For more information call the UTC Box Office at 936.294.1339.