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And all in one act...
Six student written or directed plays
By Jon Gibbons
Collegian Reporter
Starting April 20,
the Hillsdale College theater department will be presenting
six one-act plays, either written or directed by students.
All of the shows will be performed in the
Quilhot Black Box Theatre, with the student-written plays performed
on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings, and the student-directed
shows running on Wednesday and Friday evenings plus the Saturday
Matinee show.
Senior Anne Damman, junior Jennica Slattery
and freshman Rhiannon Angell will watch their one-act plays,
part of their work in Professor of Theater George Angell's playwriting
class, come to the stage under the direction of the school's
theater faculty.
"At least at the moment it's the only
creative writing course that the college offers," Angell
said.
Juniors MO Simpson, Amy Jokinen and Kira Bonnice are directing
one-act plays; It's Called the Sugar Plum, Rats and Stage Directions,
respectively.
"The first semester class and
play analysis, they learn an Aristotelian analysis process,
then they learn a more modern analysis process-called backwards
and forwards-and they practice those things on two or three
different shows over the semester in writing," Angell said.
"The second semester is entirely practical,
it's cumulative, with directing their one-act, which they chose
themselves. But also the work with my Acting 101 class, doing
different staging exercises, every Friday my Acting 101 becomes
a director's workshop."
The student-directed plays, all of which were
written by Israel Horrowitz, culminate the two-semester directing
class taught by Angell.
Runes
Written by: Anne Damman
Directed by: James Brandon
Runes involves issues raised during the search
for Viking ruins, based on the translation of a Norwegian rune
stone.
The show stars senior Silke von Sehlen as
Cora, a graduate student working on the project. Sophomore Ivan
Heitmann plays the older, more respected Alden Howell, and Matt
McMullen, freshman, as the grunt-level worker Mark.
"It's a drama with some funny lines;
it's only about 15 minutes long," McMullen said.
"I think they're a lot of fun to work
on, you really develop your character in those few scenes, you
just hone your skills on a few parts."
Daddy's Girl
Written by: Jennica Slattery
Directed by: David Griffiths
This play has come a long way from junior
Jennica Slattery's original concept.
"I don't know what to expect from my
play, honestly. It changes a lot going from playwright to director
to actor."
"They find things in the script that
I never even put there, which is a good thing; which gives it
a lot more depth."
The play stars Matt Macaulay and April Girouard
as a father and daughter whose relationship is "slightly
dysfunctional."
Leaving Eden
Written by: Rhiannon Angell
Directed by: Kelly Behrens
Rhiannon Angell's play is about the coming-of-age
and leaving childhood behind.
"It centers around three boys who have
been best friends forever; set on the night of their graduation
from high school," Angell said.
The play is more about universal themes than
the actual events surrounding the threshold to college.
"It's something everyone has to go through-unless
they were home-schooled in high school."
"I don't want to say that not a lot of
stuff happens, because a lot does, but it's not physical. There
aren't helicopters or ninja fights."
The show stars Mitchell Koory as Seth, Ryan
Walsh as Abel and John Thurow as Rob, and is being directing
by Kelly Behrens, Sage Center for the Art's production manager
and lighting designer.
Rats
Written by: Israel Horrowitz
Directed by: Amy Jokinen
Set in a world unfamiliar to the average Hillsdale
student-inner city Detroit-Rats tells the story of two inner
city vermin, Jebbie (senior Stephanie Fazekas) and Bobby (freshman
Eileen Hallagan). The play also features Paul Yau as "the
Baby."
"It's nice to have the actors act as
animals, it's set in Detroit; they're ghetto thugs," Jokinen
said.
The play covers a wide array of mood setting-Jokinen describes
it as "eerie but cute"-going from comedy to suspense
rather abruptly; not surprisingly, she said it became difficult.
"There was a time when I was regretting
[choosing the play], but it's coming along nicely, because my
actors rock."
It's Called the Sugar Plum
Written by: Israel Horrowitz
Directed by: MO Simpson
A vehicular homicide gets this play rolling.
Mitchell Koory plays Wallace Zuckerman, a
young man who has hit and killed the skateboarding fiancé
of Joanna Dibbele (Sadie Vince). The two are thrown together
and forced to confront the profound emotions and effects that
the incident has had in their life.
The play has a definite physical element to
it, something that Simpson found challenging.
"We have different shaped blocks; it's
a bit of a directing challenge." Simpson said.
"It's really tough having to work around
with the blocking: stage combat, making actors kiss each other,
having to be interpreted."
Stage Directions
Written by: Israel Horrowitz
Directed by: Kira Bonnice
Well, it delivers what it promises. The characters;
Richard (sophomore Andrew "Harvey" Jones), Ruby (freshman
Katy Ward) and Ruth (junior Jessi Ward), are siblings who have
gathered at the funeral of their parents. Stage Directions is
a Horrowitz play written entirely in stage directions.
"It's a fantastic concept that they are speaking their
[directions], it's a lot of fun, a completely different concept.'
Bonnice said that the play, because of its
less than traditional narrative, required a different emphasis
but was still extremely rewarding.
"It's working with a lot of emotions,
a lot of psychology," she said.
"I picked it because I wanted to have
fun."
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