By Jamil Oakford/ managing editor

Playground antics will lead to frayed parental nerves in NE’s newest production, God of Carnage.

This play is centered on a child hitting another and both sets of parents attempting to reach a solution on how to address the situation and move forward.

For NE student Ariana Brooke Stephens, playing the role of Veronica Novak, this play is about how people view themselves.

“People take themselves so seriously,” she said. “The whole point of the show is that no matter who’s right or who’s wrong, there’s always room to grow, improve and expand.”

Directed by NE drama associate professor Stephen Thomas, the NE drama program will perform the translated version of the original French play written by Yasmina Reza.

NE student Alex Swanson, who portrays Alan Raleigh, embraced his role as the villainous character.

“Alan’s that one character that’s completely and utterly despicable,” he said. “I hope to really disgust them [the audience members].”

Cast member and NE student Jake Blakeman, who portrays Veronica’s husband Michael, said this play is set up slightly different for the audience.

“This play is done in three-quarters thrust,” he said.

This means the audience will be seated on the stage rather than offstage away from the actors. Blakeman said this will create an intriguing environment for the audience.

“It’s a very interesting perspective to watch something in three-quarters thrust,” he said. “You get so much more detail than you would in the audience.”

Preciseness in movements and reactions are very important among the four-person cast as they bring these characters to life.

Bringing life to the part of Annette Raleigh didn’t seem to be a struggle for NE student and cast member Lee Anne Ducker.

“There are parts of yourself in roles that you’re cast in,” she said. “Annette is the most oppositional in the play. It’s overprotectiveness to a fault.”

Stephens, who is in her first NE production, found this play a learning experience for discovering her character development.

“I’m used to only focusing on how my character reacts,” she said. “But for this, I have to focus on all the characters to figure out who Veronica is.”

For the audience members, Swanson said he hopes they come away with a different perspective of the world.

“I hope they would broaden their world,” he said. “For me, that’s what theater’s about, you know? I’m hoping that people, by seeing a play like this, can realize what they do wrong and become better people from that.”