2008 Woodie Awards
SRU theater participants showcase playwright talents
By Caleb Pardick
Issue date: 4/15/05 Section: Life
|
Based on the inclusion of prostitution, alcoholism, coarse language and homosexuality, "Brave New Plays" is hardly for the weak of heart. With "Intended for Mature Audiences" stretched across the cover of the event's program, producer David Skeele, a theater professor at SRU, understands the caution.
"When we run this series of plays every year, I like to let students do what they want. I don't really like to censor what students want to write about," Skeele said. "It's usually dark, edgy, stuff, but that's the kind of stuff I like to write about, too."
The cast and crew have been busily anticipating opening night for just three-and-a-half weeks, a relatively short amount of time by theater standards.
Freshman Marilen F. Ilagan who acted in "Boys will be Boys," wrote the play "Just By Chance" and was a writer and actress in "What If?" She said plays are challenging to write because every writer has a message they want to convey, but it must be done completely through dialogue.
"Writing a play to me was more challenging than writing a story because in a story you can narrate and write descriptions and leave it to the reader's imagination," she said. "When writing a play you have to focus on characterization, scenes and language."
Ilagan said working with the student actors was a collaboration, and that working with student directors was more of a mix of work and play.
"Collaboration is a great thing but it can be frustrating," she said. "Having to agree on one thing is hard but in the end it all works out for the best."
Emily Watson, who plays Betty in "A Woman of Rumora," is thrilled at the prospect of performing something other than mainstream theater.
"I really like it because I get to perform in something different than the normal stage productions," Watson said.
Deanna Brookens, a theater major, said she likes the freedom that student-written plays provide.
"It's great because we always get to do shows (at SRU) that let us be creative," Brookens said.
Brookens, who plays a prostitute in "A Woman of Rumora," said performing non-traditional roles took a bit of imagination.
"Doing some of these pieces is a stretch," Brookens said. "Some of them are kind of like modern day absurdity pieces, and that makes it a little more difficult. They're not as self-explanatory as some of the more mainstream productions are, because you have to dig in deeper into your role."
The festival will be divided into two parts: a series of three one-act plays, each lasting about 20 minutes, and a series of 10-minute written works. The one-act plays will be performed on April 15, 21 and 23 at 8 p.m., and on April 17 at 2 p.m. The series of 10-minute plays will be held on April 16, 20 and 22 at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. show on April 24.
The festival of plays, now in its tenth year, also includes two productions of "Flying Solo," a series of dramatic monologues, that will be performed on April 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. at Miller Auditorium.
