An excited audience filled the Joan Harris Gelb Theater on May 10, 11, and 12 from 7:30 to 9:45 with high expectations for the 16th Annual Student Playwriting Festival. On Friday night, tickets for the show were sold out as early as 5:00 PM. The crowd was not disappointed—many audience members were left speechless by the end. The standing ovation that the festival received was proof of its success: everything—from acting to sound effects—was fantastic.
“The Sanitarium,” written by Liz Walbridge ’08 and directed by Nathaniel Moore ’08, tells the story that unfolds when Susan, a trainee nurse (Sam Seto ’07), finds a job at an asylum. The senior nurse (Jen Biestek ’07) locks her in a room full of four mental patients: Mrs. Parker (Jennifer Xiao ’09), who despises books to an irrational level, Mr. Johnson (Alexander Wiske ’07), who is disgusted by the scent of flowers, Mrs. Stewart (Ridhima Guniganti ’09), who is afraid of clocks and time passing by, and Mr. Hope (Jennifer Lee ’07) who sits in a corner in his own little world and refuses to associate with anyone. However, the patients’ idiosyncratic actions and unique phobias turn out to be part of a conspiracy to drive Susan insane, and they eventually succeed.
Although the plot was quite predictable, this play posed many questions to the audience, particularly regarding the character of Mr. Hope. Why was he driven deeper into insanity than the other patients? What did his last monologue, when he said he would like to “squeeze the life” out of something, mean? What did his actions toward the end of the play, such as standing on the top of the couch growling and biting his own arm, signify? Although audience members floated theories, the truth remained unclear. This mysterious element drew the audience into the performance and left it deep in thought afterwards.
The next play, “The School Bus Jihad,” focused on a war between two suburbs, Yalesville and Wallingford. Written by Ben Firke ’08 and directed by Hanna Kregling ’07, the story starts with Wade (Zach Sheldon ’07) coming back home from a two-week adventure in Germany to find that his hometown is in ruins. While he was gone, his sister Kat (Charlotte Madere ’07) had been through a tragic school bus accident and his mother (Molly Webb ’08) had started a war to avenge her daughter. Although Wade wants to seek revenge, he is hesitant about war and violence in general. His best friend Scott (Ailis Peplau ’09), though, seems excited about this concept. With his sister, mother, and Scott urging him to participate and his girlfriend Jacqueline (Victoria Vaccari ’09) discouraging him, Wade is unsure of the path he must take. Scott loses an arm in the war and Kat eventually reveals that the whole war was based on a lie. Her mom becomes so irate at this news that she attempts to shoot her own daughter, but ends up accidentally shooting Wade instead. In a blinding rage, their mother dies in a bomb explosion and Scott, Kat, Jacqueline, and Wade vow to found a peaceful town run by young people. Simply put, this play was hilarious. The whole concept of a suburban war was preposterous, which added to the humor and social commentary throughout the play.
Written by Regina DePietro ’07 and directed by Alex Saltzman ’08, “The Whole Truth and Nothing But” was about a woman named Molly (Arline Lee ’09) who suffocates her husband (Wiske) and is interrogated by a cop named John (Will Porter ’10). Claiming that every single person has a personality disorder, Molly bewilders and manipulates John by constantly contradicting herself. Later on, her lawyer (Shaomin Chew ’09) joins in the deception. Outraged to say the least, John storms out of the room and another cop, played by Wiske yet again, walks in. Molly continues to deceive the second cop by saying the same things that she said to John before.
This play was not only brilliant, but also the most popular. Most of the audience named this play as their favorite. The silent montage at the beginning was particularly impressive, as it captured the incidents preceding the interrogation both intensely and effectively.
The last performance was “Rising Without Wings,” written by Francisca DaSilveira ’10 and directed by Meredith Mosbacher ’07. The play was set in the 1950s, and took the form of a condensed musical. Kathryne (Sarah Rosen ’08) arrives at Chicago and finds a job at Sam’s Diner, owned by Sam (Max Nwabara ’07), where her roommate Desireigh (Janelle Fouche ’07) works. In a bar where The Dibs (Fouche, Tamara Gonzalez ’10, Learah Lockhart ’08) perform, Kathryne wins the heart of Brody (Elijah Dabney ’07), but refuses to reciprocate his feelings. After being sexually harassed by David Crosby (Jessica Nicholson ’10), Kathryne quits her job and attempts to run away from Chicago altogether. However, she is stopped by Desireigh who convinces Kathryne to pursue her passion for writing as well as accept Brody’s love for her. Kathryne complies, and by the end, she finds happiness with Brody and success with the publication of a book called “Rising Without Wings.” Additional actors in this play were Nicole Leung ’07, who plays the bartender, and Elli Nacheva ’08, who plays the character of Roy.
This piece was moving and well written, and it did a fantastic job of acquainting the audience with various aspects of the 1950s. It served as a suitable finale to this year’s Student Playwriting Festival. Fouche and Dabney delivered amazing performances, both in their acting and singing.
Overall, the Student Playwriting Festival reflected talent and sustained effort. The entire cast displayed genuine talent, the playwrights showed their creativity through excellent writing, and the directors’ great work cannot be disregarded. Additionally, the props, sound, and lighting were all highly effective. The audience had nothing but praise for this highly successful production. Let’s hope next year’s will be just as brilliant.
