MARQUETTE—Northern Michigan University’s Forest Roberts Theatre will present the world premiere of Bears, the winner of the 2012 Panowski Playwriting Competition. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, to Saturday, Nov. 17, with an added matinee at 1 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $5 for NMU students with ID and $15 for the general public. They are available at all NMU EZ Ticket outlets.

            Bears, by Mark Rigney, is a comedy centered on environmental issues. It features Growl Bear and Timmy Bear, zoo bears in a world with nearly no human society. A wild bear named Susie discovers their enclosure and encourages the two bears to come out from their zoo into the strange wild world. Together, they learn how to survive and find within themselves what it truly means to be a bear.

            Keli Truckey will direct this production. The cast members and their roles are: NMU senior Adam Lowe of Merrimac, Wis., Growl Bear; junior Shane Vincent of East Tawas, Mich, Timmy Bear; senior Jackie Wiles of Paw Paw, Mich., Susie Wild Bear; and junior Meghan Marquardt of Eau Claire, Wis., Radio Announcer.

            The student crew members are as follows: freshman Natalie Berger of Ferndale, MI, assistant stage manager; freshman Alysa Spivak of Lake in the Hills, Ill., assistant stage manager; senior Courtney Brown of Midland, Mich., production stage manager; senior Pierce Huxtable of Neenah, Wis., props design; senior Jalina Olgren of Ishpeming, Mich. sound design; and senior Kristy Priest of Lowell, Mich., lighting design.

The theme for the 2011-12 Panowski Playwriting Competition was environmental issues. Submissions had to focus on issues such as sustainability, climate, conservation, population effects and others.

For more information, contact the Forest Roberts Theatre Box Office at 227-2553 or go to www.nmu.edu/theatre.