The winter months have been hectic for many St. Ambrose University students due to events such as KCACTF, our studio theatre production of A View from the Bridge, and now the start of Cabaret rehearsals.
However, eight of our wonderful students and faculty advisor Dr. Cory Johnson have managed to find time amidst all the madness to prepare for next year's mainstage theatre season. This current St. Ambrose team is working closely with SAU alum Aaron Randolph III '12 to workshop an original play that will be performed sometime during the next academic school year on the Allaert Auditorium mainstage!
Collectively, all of the individuals working on this project have meetings twice a month to continue progress on this sure-to-be-spectacular play. Under the direction of Randolph, this group comes together to discuss potential topics that would be interesting for the audience, as well as discuss other potential themes/elements that might be incorporated into the piece.
"It is such a cool experience!" said senior Kayla Lansing. "To have such an active voice in the playwriting process was something I could have never imagined myself doing. I'm so grateful to Aaron and Cory for this incredible opportunity."
While the exact topics and title of the play are still being held a mystery, first-year students Ellie Larson and Luke Peterson, sophomore students TJ Green and Jessica Karolczak, junior students Sarah Goodall and Rebecca Moews, and senior students Kayla Lansing and Brian Leibforth have been working hard to make this play the absolute best it can be. Each and every student has provided feedback and ideas for the project, and in the weeks to come their brainstorming sessions will evolve into other activities.
While brainstorming ideas is very important, Randolph also has stressed the importance of independent research, interviews, and improv sessions in order to help make the play honest and realistic. The workshop team cannot wait to dive deeper into setting the foundation for this play!
To have such an active voice in the playwriting process was something I could have never imagined myself doing. I'm so grateful to Aaron and Cory for this incredible opportunity.
Senior Kayla Lansing
With two more months of meetings ahead of them, the playwriting workshop team still has a lot of work to be done in order to help lay some of the groundwork for this play. However, their excitement is palpable.
"I'm super interested to see what activities we get to start working on in the next couple of meetings," Lansing said. "Brainstorming has been fun and I'm sure we will continue to brainstorm ideas; however, all the other possible research methods Aaron has talked about seem incredibly interesting. These kinds of hands-on experiences are opportunities that are only available to St. Ambrose students, and I feel so lucky to be involved."
All in all, our department cannot wait to see what the final project will end up being. The hard work and dedication put forth by each and every member of the workshop team has been remarkable, and we know it will culminate into being an amazing show!
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