2008 Woodie Awards
Student-written, directed plays to take stage at end of month
By Jessica Rupell
Rocket Focus Editor
Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: Focus
He said his plays all focus around the theme of mid-life crises.
This year's Brave New Plays includes three separate programs: "Flying Solo" on April 24 and 25, "Hanging Ten" on April 26 and 27, and Skeele's "Shut the F#%& Up!!" on April 28 and 29, with all shows beginning at 8 p.m., except for the performance on April 29, which will be begin at 2 p.m.
"This year, we have by far the best group of plays we've ever had," Skeele said. "I can't say enough about this year's plays. I'm just very impressed."
He said he believes this is partly due to the department learning how to make things better over the years.
Because either being concurrently in the playwriting class or having taken the playwriting class in the past is the only main requirement to showcasing your work in Brave New Plays, the time the class was offered was very important.
Skeele said that during the first couple of years Brave New Plays was in existence, the playwriting class was held in the spring, only giving the students in the class four to five weeks to put together a stage-worthy draft.
But though he said the plays were OK, the quality of them could have been better if the students had more time. Therefore, Skeele said playwriting is now offered in the fall, giving students an entire semester to write a play.
"But there are no real restrictions on content," Skeele said. "Of course there are guidelines to make them better plays, such as it needs to have a beginning, middle and end, and there must be a journey for the character-an element of transformation-but besides that, it's just the basic rules of playwriting."
Skeele did warn, though, that the shows are for mature audiences.
"This year I don't think anything is quite as extreme in the sex and violence as it has been in past years," Skeele said. "In the past, there have been some that have been pretty raw, but this year's plays are for a little bit of a wider audience. But it's still not a festival you bring the kids to."
This year's Brave New Plays includes three separate programs: "Flying Solo" on April 24 and 25, "Hanging Ten" on April 26 and 27, and Skeele's "Shut the F#%& Up!!" on April 28 and 29, with all shows beginning at 8 p.m., except for the performance on April 29, which will be begin at 2 p.m.
"This year, we have by far the best group of plays we've ever had," Skeele said. "I can't say enough about this year's plays. I'm just very impressed."
He said he believes this is partly due to the department learning how to make things better over the years.
Because either being concurrently in the playwriting class or having taken the playwriting class in the past is the only main requirement to showcasing your work in Brave New Plays, the time the class was offered was very important.
Skeele said that during the first couple of years Brave New Plays was in existence, the playwriting class was held in the spring, only giving the students in the class four to five weeks to put together a stage-worthy draft.
But though he said the plays were OK, the quality of them could have been better if the students had more time. Therefore, Skeele said playwriting is now offered in the fall, giving students an entire semester to write a play.
"But there are no real restrictions on content," Skeele said. "Of course there are guidelines to make them better plays, such as it needs to have a beginning, middle and end, and there must be a journey for the character-an element of transformation-but besides that, it's just the basic rules of playwriting."
Skeele did warn, though, that the shows are for mature audiences.
"This year I don't think anything is quite as extreme in the sex and violence as it has been in past years," Skeele said. "In the past, there have been some that have been pretty raw, but this year's plays are for a little bit of a wider audience. But it's still not a festival you bring the kids to."
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