Lara Sinangil
Contributing Writer
During the weekend of Feb. 27 through March 1, the Festival of New Plays will be performed in the Schoolroy Theatre by various students of the Theatre and Dance department. Founded by Associate Professor Shirley Houston-Findley, the Festival of New Plays is a semiannual performance created to showcase the work of students in the Theatre and Dance department in a more public and formal setting.
One of the most unique aspects of this production is the complete involvement of the student body. As Raphael Gunn ’14 said, “Everything, from the writing and directing and the lighting and the sound is run by students.” Gunn is acting in one of the three plays being performed, The Infallible Gods, written by Warner Brownfield ’16, and directed by Janna Haywood ’14. Gunn highlighted how surprisingly easy to get involved with the productions. While certain classes in the theatre department are required before being able to write, direct or design sets for the productions, many of these classes are open to all students. Although Gunn is a Communication Studies major, he was still able to audition and receive a major role in the production. “Everyone can participate, regardless of your major,” Gunn added.
The other two productions being performed this weekend are This is What Makes Us Girls, also written by Haywood ’14 and directed by Aviva Neff ’14 and The Train Station, written by Andrea Luedtke, ’14 and directed by Amanda O’Donnell ’14. Audrey Platt ’15 is one of the three students who designed the set for The Train Station, and also highlights the fresh and unique aspects of the plays being performed, “All of the plays are original material, and all of them are the writers’ debuts.”
Both Platt and Gunn emphasize the amount of independence given to students in running these productions. It was Platt’s first time designing sets for a play, but this did not take away from the amount of responsibility she was given. “It was really interesting because a lot of the time, many things are usually done for us, especially in set design,” Platt said. “For many of us, it was our first time ever doing set design, which was a great experience. There was a lot of support given to us, but there was also a lot of figuring out stuff on our own.”
Although the Festival of New Plays is technically directed by Associate Professor Jimmy A. Noriega, Gunn does not discount the amount work put into the productions by the students. “Working with students by far was the coolest part … As far as the theatre department goes, it was more of the students than the department running things,” said Noriega.
“When you think of academic departments, you think of a bunch of faculty, but it is really up to the students to run and execute the performances.”
Tickets will be available next week in the Box Office at Freedlander Theatre, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Friday.