| October 30, 2019 | Victor Allison | reporter |
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Forget Shakespeare. A new crop of student playwrights wants to dazzle theatergoers with masterpieces of their own.
Audiences can catch the plays when SE theater department stages their work at the Black Box Theater Nov. 13 -16 for an annual showcase, “The Festival of New Plays.”
“The Festival of New Plays” is an annual showcase put on by the SE theater department that features theatrical productions based on original plays written by students.
This year’s playbill will include four 10-minute productions that cover a spectrum of subjects from the adventures of a merciless agent to the crisis of mental health.
This year’s festival includes, “Going Up?” by Kat Hamilton, “Sins, Not Tragedies / Sins and Tragedies” by Jesse Humphreys, “Thank You for Shopping” by Haley Davila and “Girl Scout Cookies” by Quanard Carter.
According to instructor and director Megan Harantine, the four scripts were handpicked by a selection committee, made up of theater and English faculty.
“Lots of students can write a short story,” she said. “But in writing for the stage, the playwright must keep in mind that what they are doing is creating a blueprint for what ultimately will become the finished art object, the production itself.”
The faculty will direct the plays, and the cast consists of student actors.
Audiences can expect to have a more intimate experience with the plays as they will be performed in SE Black Box Theater, a small performance space where audiences will surround actors on three sides.
Student playwright Davila said she hopes to take advantage of this.
“I want to have people so entertained that they believe they are in it,” she said. “That they are the characters themselves. And maybe they can have that moment where they question themselves and question the scene.”
Her play “Thank You for Shopping” is a one-act drama about an orphan’s quest to find answers about his past. And in the spirit of playwright Samuel French, Davila said she wants to challenge audiences to probe their internal conflicts.
“I want to convey a humanity aspect,” she said. “Especially for this play, even if you can not relate to it totally. You may have a thought and say I’ve been there.”
In “Sins, Not Tragedy,” Humphreys lifts pieces of his biography to examine the silver lining of depression.
“The main message I want to send is even if you’re starting in a bad place, if you need help, help can come from the most unexpected places,” he said. “Despite the fact that you have this horrible, horrible thing, it does get better. As long as you keep climbing the mountain, you will see the sunrise.”
