Every year the Theatre and Dance Department gives students the opportunity to present their work. Alternating between the two arts, this year theatre students will showcase their talents in the Gustavus Theatre Galleries. The showcase will feature three plays with two of them being student directed.
That Time, originally written by Samuel Beckett, will be directed by Junior Theatre Major Thomas Buan. Samuel Bekett is regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, and is seen as the father of modern absurdism. Beckett is known for writing long plays but became more minimalist in his later career. That Time, for instance, is only 20 minutes long. Featuring just a face with narration, That Time details a man’s life as he remembers while dying. The dying man is played by Senior and Computer Science and Classics Major Adam Thornburg. For Buan, looking at the single moment in which an entire life is remembered hasn’t been the easiest. Buan has looked into the textual analysis, and discovered the short play is hard to deviate from since its production has been shut down before for not following the direct quality withheld by the original production throughout history.
Buan has previously directed a 10 minute play in a directing course last year, but appreciates the chance to lead a play once more.
“It’s been fantastic. Having the director’s experience has been great. Having control on what happens on stage while not being on stage is a liberating experience. Continuing with the role, next summer, Brady Mueller and I will be putting a bid on the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Brady will be writing it and I will be directing it,” Buan stated.
The second play, Gray Duck was written by Theatre Professor Amy Seham and will be directed by Senior Theatre Honors Hannah Enright. Ranging from 45 minutes to an hour, the play focuses on recent college graduates. Providing an honest depiction of being lost and having passion for something but not exactly knowing how to do it in the real world.
Given that Angels in America was cast in the spring, this play provides first-years with the first opportunity to be featured on stage. Auditions were held during the second week of school. Since then, Enright and her cast of first-years have been rehearsing. The main cast includes a very passionate main character with doubts about their abilities, a snarky artist, a laid back computer nerd, and a hopeful film composer, all living within the same building. The entire set will be in a greyscale going along with the title and each character will be featured in a different color scheme. Just like Buan, Enright has taken the directing course in addition with having directed some camp plays. However, this will be her first time directing an official play. Learning a lot from the entirety of the process, Enright shared her excitement with directing the play and working with first years.
“It’s fun in being in something more like a mentor position. It’s exciting to see the first-years deal with mature themes that they are probably more than ready to deal with. Nearing that post-grad stage myself, I have learned a lot about myself and how I work to be able to communicate, envision, and put forth something even better than ever before. This show is very me in a way and that’s why I like it. If anything else this show is able to communicate that being aware of the challenges we are all going to face in the future, it’ll be alright as long as you have friends, family and believe in yourself, you will successful,” Enright said.
The last play being performed is So whatta We Got Here. Lasting for about an hour, So Whatta We Got Here will investigate 15 artists defining themselves against the back drop of a societal versus individual context. Created by Artist-in-Residence Brian Evans ‘07, the show will look at how the individual selves work as a whole. Split into five sections that Brian choreographed to represent the society, the 15 characters will all express themselves through art. Whether it be through dance, reenactment, costume design, etc., each artist will have their moment before fading back into the overall group. Sophomore Sociology/Anthropology Major Sadie LaPlante, for instance, will express herself through dance.
“I will take away being more comfortable with my creations and being able to perform it. It’s a rare opportunity to express one’s self and their vulnerability. Being in a group that ultimately wants to express themselves to an audience, whatever that art may be, is liberating in representing what so many diverse students are able to do here at Gustavus,” Sadie said.
As all three shows are free for students as long as they order their tickets. The three shows will be showcased at various times throughout the weekend of the 20th to the 22nd. Gray Duck and That Time will be featured in the Black Box while So Whatta we Got Here will be in the Kresge Studio. Students should not miss out on this wonderful theatre tradition here at Gustavus.
-Dan Vruno