NE play features small cast, complex lives

By Raegan Scharfetter/ reporter

Cast member Hayden Evans rehearses his role as Jerry with fellow castmate Alex Swanson looks on. At Home at the Zoo by Edward Albee opens Oct. 5 and runs through Oct. 8 in the NE theater. Katelyn Townsend/The Collegian
Cast member Hayden Evans rehearses his role as Jerry with fellow castmate Alex Swanson looks on. At Home at the Zoo by Edward Albee opens Oct. 5 and runs through Oct. 8 in the NE theater.
Katelyn Townsend/The Collegian

NE Campus theater students are back with their first production of the fall semester, At Home At The Zoo by Edward Albee, which opens Oct. 5.

Albee, the original playwright who died Sept. 16, wrote the play for only three actors and three characters.

“Edward Albee was a very influential playwright,” NE drama associate professor and theater director Stephen Thomas said. “He has impacted my work as a director in many ways. It is always a tragedy when a great artist passes.”

This Albee play combines two of his previous works into one. Act One, Homelife, introduces publishing executive Peter and his wife Ann revealing their rocky marriage. The second act, The Zoo Story, finds Peter on a park bench encountering Jerry, a stranger who intrudes on Peter’s life in unexpected ways.

“I think that this production is a challenge for a small group,” he said. “These are great performers, and I hope that they continue to grow as actors.”

NE student Hayden Evans, who plays Jerry, has “fallen in love again” with theater after joining the cast.

“Jerry is a complex character. There’s a lot to dissect with his troubled past,” he said. “It was also difficult to remember all of the streets in New York.”

NE student Alex Swanson, who plays Peter, said he feels like an actual human being and doesn’t feel like he’s just acting in this play.

“Peter is definitely not who I thought he would be,” he said. “I hope the audience opens their eyes to not be inactive in their own lives.”

NE student Ariana Stephens plays Ann. Stephens plans to continue acting and has taken a piece of advice given to her in high school: “Always stay involved.”

“I feel similar to Ann because she wants something real and passionate in her husband,” she said. “No one can love her the way she needs them to, and I relate with her on that.”

Performances are free for all TCC students, faculty and staff, $3 for non-TCC students and seniors and $6 for the general public. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Oct. 5-8 with a 2 p.m. matinee Oct. 8 in the NFAB theater.

Call the box office at 817-515-6687 for reservations.