It’s that time of year for DU seniors: graduating students are leaving soon, anxious about joining “the real world” and frantically writing resumes. In addition to these strenuous experiences, the DU Theatre seniors are doing something different from their counterparts—they’re hosting a series of plays.
Beginning on April 8, senior theater majors will be putting on a series of works that are required as part of the DU Theatre Department capstone project. The event is dubbed “The DU Theatre Senior Capstone Festival,” and runs in two cycles; the first runs from April 8 to April 12 and the second will run from May 6 to May 10.
Each cycle encompasses a variety of different productions of varying lengths that cannot exceed 45 minutes (each is only one act.) These works are labors of love and tears; seniors spent at least one whole year working on these productions and practicing the needed skills for such a large project. Seniors had to choose their plays, select a design team, give instruction, audition and select a cast and, ultimately, direct their personal visions.
The productions have been announced for the first cycle and they are listed below. Luckily, with the purchase of one ticket an audience member gets to see all three productions. Tickets are only $10 dollars, and can be purchased on the Newman Center website.
DU Theatre Senior Capstone Festival Cycle 1 will be held in JMac Studios (located in the Johnson-McFarlane building.) Evening shows will be held on April 8, 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m., while both a matinee (2 p.m.) and an evening show (7:30 p.m.) will be held on April 11 and 12.
“There Shall Be No Bottom”
Written by Mark O’Donnell, directed by Nicole Campbell
According to the DU Theater department, “There Shall Be No Bottom,” a comedy, is a play about a play.This production is very “meta” in its content; this work is about bad acting and all of the hilarity and issues that come along with it.
The play includes Jeff “who can’t seem to remember his lines,” Joe, who always “skips ahead,” Jane, who can’t seem to part with her innocence and Jared, who is late for the play because he is stuck in traffic. Cast members include Danforth Webster, David French, Wren Schuyler and Sara Sachs.
“A Thing I Cannot Name”
Written by Matthew Minnicino, directed by Adeline Mann
“A Thing I Cannot Name” contains “martial and performance arts, naughty language, silly voices,and love [triumph] (maybe).” This production follows main characters Leo and Lee as they try to work out their romantic relationship, no matter the cost.
Adeline Mann, director, claims the piece as “a slice of meta-theater,” and while it may be comedic, the production also includes “moments of serious intensity and heightened reality and genuine emotion.” Cast members include Keegan Bockhorst and Ashley Campbell.
“Fissures (Lost and Found)”
Written by Steve Epp, Cory Hinkle, Dominic Orland, Dominique Serrand, Deborah Stein and Victoria Stewart, directed by Tony Ryan
Described by the Theater Department as an “exploration of memory,” this production describes memory and how it is affected through remembering and recall. “Fissures” tries to discover why we invent some of our memories and why we subtract some of our least desirable ones. “Fissures” is “written by five different people all contributing their own memories,” says director Tony Ryan.
Following the journey of a young man, a dead wife and two siblings, this production is an interesting and fresh take on human memory. Cast members include Garrett Biggs, Daniel Crumrine, Rachel Reidenbaugh, Thunder Butler and Aristotle Johns.
The second cycle of the DU Theatre Senior Capstone Festival has not yet been announced, but keep an eye on the DU Theatre Department website for updates on the second cycle and other future productions.
