2008 Woodie Awards
Student directors host three day theater festival
Issue date: 3/1/06 Section: News
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Staff Writer
It has become the custom of the North Greenville University theatre department to perform one major production and a few one act plays for the campus students and locals each semester. On February 22 through February 24, the Theatron club hosted a quaint 50-seat performance on the stage of Turner chapel.
These student-directed productions included The Valiant, The Happy Journey, and The Monkey's Paw. Only two shows were performed each night. On Feb. 22, the audience viewed The Valiant followed by The Happy Journey. On Feb. 23, The Valiant and The Monkey's Paw were shown. And on Feb. 24, The Monkey's Paw followed The Happy Journey.
To add to their experience in theatre, junior theatre majors Britney Teie, Amanda Tallcott, and Matthew Thomason focused their attention and skill to bring these three differing plays to life, as student directors. Casting auditions started soon after the student's arrival back from Christmas break. The students had a little over a month to prepare and practice for these performances. Each one-act play was as different as the individuals directing them.
"I chose to direct The Valiant because the suspense and complexity of the play would challenge my skill as a director to grow and be a good learning experience," said Teie.
The Valiant told the story of a murder James Dyke's last night alive while he awaited the electric chair. The warden and priest don't believe Dyke to be the man he claims to be, and that very night, a young lady comes to visit Dyke claiming that she is his sister. With a surprising twist, the end reveals Dyke's true identity.
The play Tallcott chose to direct, The Happy Journey, told a much lighter story of the Kirby family and their trip to see their married daughter, Beulah, who had been ill after losing her baby. With no props except chairs to sit on, the actors portrayed an over dramatic mother, a calm and respectable father, a prissy and zealous daughter, and a forgetful and preoccupied son. The road trip to Camden,New Jersey provided many laughs from the audience.