Michael Hatchett
A&E Editor
Theater fans have something to be excited about. Starting this Wednesday, the theatre & dance department will begin performances of their third annual Festival of New Works, a platform for the works of student playwrights, directors, performers, dancers and designers. The first work is Forgive Me Father for I have Sinned, a play written by Eli Millette ’17 and directed by Tashi Hutchins ’17. According to Hutchins, the piece “is about two brothers who are trying to piece together their relationship while in the confinement of an interrogation room of a correctional facility. They attempt to hash out their differences, but some secrets are revealed as they do so.”
The actors involved are Nikhil Patnaik ’19, Jeremy Miller ’18 and George Marn ’18. When asked about the challenges of directing, Hutchins said, “The hardest part for me was finding how I could best support my actors as we tackled this piece and how I could best direct them. I found that with my cast and crew, the best way to do this was to just relate to them as a fellow student and remain casual yet progressive so that we could have fun and share laughs but also find out how to interpret these characters and to deliver this story in a memorable and intriguing way.”
She mentioned that it wasn’t all hardship, that one of the most rewarding moments occurred during a full run-through of Now She Lives Alone On Chester Avenue, the other play debuting in the festival. “We had a ‘Show and Tell’ rehearsal where Vincent’s cast and crew performed for my cast and crew and vice versa. This was so satisfying because all of the hard work we put in to our show was made visible to an audience, and we felt really good about it,” Hutchins said.
Hutchins also added that theatergoers should “be prepared for a wild ride! These pieces are unconventional and bizarre, but they are so in the very best of ways.” The second work is Now She Lives Alone On Chester Avenue, a play written by Summit Starr ’16, starring Savannah White ’17 and directed by Vincent Meredith ’18.
Meredith says that the work “is a one-woman show that transports audiences into the mind and life of a middle-aged woman. Amidst a seemingly dilapidated, somber and broken home, she resides with her many empty whiskey bottles, three self-created makeshift mannequins, a brusque sock puppet and her boundless imagination. She continually rants to and confides in the inanimate objects around her in hope for a response and to attain genuine connection. Her tangled world uncoils as she bounces from reality to trance, attempting to reconstruct her past relationships with her family.”
Meredith greatly enjoyed the rehearsal process and said, “I will forever cherish this experience as my first official directing opportunity. I am interested in directing after college and this experience only enhanced my drive to perfect this precious craft.”
Additionally, there will be a performance of Women Of Ciudad Juárez, written by actress and director Cristina Michaus and translated and directed by Jimmy A. Noriega. Tickets are currently on sale at the Box Office in Freedlander Theater. Performances for the Festival of New Workts will occur on March 2, 3, 4, & 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Shoolroy Theatre. Performances for Women Of Ciudad Juárez will occur on March 2, 3, 4 and 5 at 8:45 p.m. in Freedlander Theatre.