| October 30, 2019 | Gunner Young | campus editor |
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NW Campus drama program will perform “The Boys Next Door,” from Nov. 14-17.
Directed by Bridgette Marquardt, the play is about four intellectually disabled men who live in a New England residence under the supervision of a social worker.
Marquardt said she thinks some might have a hard time relating to people with special-needs or might feel uncomfortable, but this play can help.
“I think that can begin to change as we see, I hope and pray, more art expressing their stories, most importantly art that expresses the truth that these people are equal to every other human being in worth and dignity,” Marquardt said.
NW student Kirsten Wagner who plays Sheila in the production said the play gives viewers an interesting look into a life one might not know much about.
“The Boys Next Door” is especially personal for NW student Ahmad Alamin, who plays one of the four main characters, Lucien.
“I have a brother that has autism,” Alamin said. “I love to see him get better and learn more things. I think seeing people grow in this play will give them a similar feeling.”
While it deals with serious themes, the play is meant to be humorous and show that despite the characters’ situations, they can go above and beyond that, said Wagner
“The script does a great job showing that just because a person is mentally handicapped or has special needs, that doesn’t define them,” Wagner said.
According to Wagner, the depth in which the actors have to understand their characters in order to play them accurately is what makes “The Boys Next Door” interesting.
“There’s a lot of thinking about why you say what you do and where that thought process comes from,” she said. “These characters are a lot deeper than what’s printed on the script.”
NW student Clark Jones said the relationships he’s built with his fellow performers and doing research on how to portray these characters gave him insight on others.
“By diving into these characters psyches, to look at their perspectives in some way,” Jones said. ”It really shines a light on the enormity of normality.”
