Two stories, one about
three mentally handicapped people living life as normally as they
can and another about a love-hate relationship between lovers and
a lobsterman, are now available for the price of one.
“The One Acts IV will be a powerful night of theatre, being
nothing you have ever seen before,” Daryl Walker, director
of the one-act play “Andrea’s Got Two Boyfriends,”
said Friday.
The two one-act plays being performed are “Andrea’s Got
Two Boyfriends” by David Willinger, directed by sophomore Daryl
Walker, and “Cowboy Mouth” by Sam Shepard and Patti Smith,
directed by senior Ross B. Bryant.
Both directors had the opportunity to direct these one-act plays
by taking the advanced-level directing class Directing II.
“Every single one acts is directed by someone in this class,
so it is partially personal project and partially class assignment
because we are getting graded on the performance,” Bryant said
Friday.
“The play ‘Andrea’s Got Two Boyfriends’ is the
true story about the playwright’s sister, Andrea, and her two
friends, all who are mentally challenged, trying to live out their
daily existence dealing with the hardships of being who they are,”
Walker said.
The cast includes Shelby C. Jennings as Andrea, Kiehl F. Smit as
Freddie, Lynn Wilson as Richard and Matthew J. Phillips as Mike,
the social worker, according to the One Acts IV press release.
Daryl Walker is no rookie to the theatre. Before this one-act play,
he helped direct last year’s freshmen show, held acting parts
in “Hamlet” and most recently acted in “Dearly Departed.”
Walker, a theatre performance major with a minor in dance, said
he wants to move to New York City after graduation and act.
“The play ‘Cowboy Mouth’ is a dream-like version
of the characters,’ Slim and Cavale, love-hate relationship
full of sex, violence and poetry, all isolated in one moment in
space with a man-size lobster,” Bryant said.
The cast consists of Ryan D. Ledwig as Slim, Kristy L. Dupre as
Cavale and John E. Bateman as the Lobster Man, according to the
One Acts IV press release.
Bryant has co-directed “Tongues” and an original work
“Osark” and is also a part of the improvisation group
Noun.
Bryant, an interdisciplinary studies major with a theatre concentration,
said he wants to move to Chicago, Ill., and train in improvisation
after graduation.
He said he hopes the play will be cathartic for the audience, allowing
theatre to be the religious-like experience he said he thinks it
should be.
The One Acts IV, presented by the Department of Theatre and Dance,
will run Wednesday through Saturday at the I.G. Greer Arena Theatre
at 8 p.m. Tickets are $4 and are being sold in the Valborg Theatre
box office.
“Come out for a night of sex, violence, lobster and the destruction
of the legitimate theatre,” Bryant said. |
