Theatre Newsletter | December 2021
Student Directed One-Acts are back, live, and in-person!
For those who may not be familiar with this event, every year aspiring students in the directing class (taught by Dr. Corinne Johnson) must direct one-act plays to round out their semester. Last year during COVID-19, the event was cancelled, but this year they are back on and will be produced on Sunday, December 12 at 7 p.m. in the Studio Theatre. This year's student directors are seniors Andrés Garcia and Courtney Cook.
Garcia is directing The Bear by Anton Chekhov with a cast consisting of Juniors Quinnie Rodman and Drew Dowda, and Senior Kyle DeFauw. The Bear is a farce which focuses on characters pretending to have a handle on their emotions, when they most definitely do not. When a local landowner demands money from a mourning widow, their ensuing arguments and emotions run high, which make for funny outbursts and an unexpected ending, all being witnessed by the widow's poor footman.
Garcia picked this show because while he is a fan of Chekhov's work, this is a style Chechov did not often write in and for Garcia, it is an exciting challenge.
"So far, my favorite part of the directing process is seeing my vision of the script come to life on stage," Garcia said. "It's really exciting when the world you want to build is successfully being realized. Working with a group of talented actors, professor, and stage manager certainly helps with this too!"
One-Acts
Seniors Andrés Garcia (pictured) and Courtney Cook are directors. Pictured is a scene from Garcia's one-act, "The Bear."
On the other hand, Cook is directing The American Dream by Edward Albee. The American Dream is about a kooky set of parents who are looking for satisfaction. Will they find any through their guests that come to visit, or will they continue to grumble about life? You'll have to come see to find out!
Upon being suggested to direct this play, Cook knew it was exactly the kind of show she had been looking for all along and she jumped at the opportunity to take on this project.
The directors and their actors have been putting in the hours to perfect these one-acts during finals week, so fellow students and theatre fanatics should book their calendars for this event. In the words of Garcia, "It would mean the world for us student directors to have a good audience to view our hard work!"
The one-acts perform one night only on Sunday, December 12, 7 p.m. in the Studio Theatre in the Galvin Fine Arts Center. Admission is free.
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