O-Week displays local theatrical, literary talents
Despite the downpour on Friday, Sept. 5, the College of Arts Student Union’s One Act Play Festival filled the University of Guelph’s George Luscombe Theatre with laughter. Audience members were delighted by the hilarious performances of plays written, directed, performed, and designed by students. The evening’s programme detailed four different short acts: Three Lessons, Hi., June 22, and The Experiment, while the front depicted mysteriously ambiguous images that went along with each play.
The mystery, though intriguing, also made it hard to know which play was which, leading to some confusion when watching. This detail, however, did not take away from the amazingly original and creative works written by the students. The entire show covered a variety of topics, from entertainingly comedic to solemnly dramatic plays, provoking thoughtful discussion amongst the audience during intermission.
When asked what her impression of the plays were, audience member Emilie Strain commented, “I thought they were very entertaining; they did a very good job of having a dramatic play in the middle of comedic plays. It was unexpected, and I think it made it more powerful.”
The dramatic play in question, June 22, included a noteworthy performance by Kennedy Thompson, whose fervent, emotional retelling of a bystander in a horrific incident of a young gay teenager set ablaze by a homophobic partygoer brought the room to silence and instigated reflection on the topic of hate crimes and homophobia.
Though dark and thought-provoking, the rest of the comedic plays that surrounded June 22 were light-hearted and fun, some with a deeper message within their humourous tone. One noteworthy favourite was The Experiment, written by Josh Mete and directed by Aron Cadesky. The plot followed a (somewhat) mad scientist who spends two years creating an unpeelable banana. The goal? To foil the Illuminati and bring despair to them and their children, who would be unable to eat the fruit. However, the scientist’s efforts are proven unsuccessful when his assistant opens the banana— from the bottom. The play goes on to follow the romantic and comedic interactions between the scientist and his assistant, even involving the audience at certain points.
When asked what she thought of the writing and directing of the plays, knowing everything was done by students, audience member Shelby Cady said, “I was really impressed. They were very professional and I wouldn’t have guessed that a student had written them. The Experiment was definitely my favourite. The direction was really good, and I loved how [the scientist] broke the fourth wall.”
Filled with hilarious and heart-warming exchanges, the audience is brought along on the two’s fumbling exchanges. Not only that, but the audience also finds out the Illuminati is real and extremely unimpressed, to the point of disgust, that the scientist has no interest in time machines, only unpeelable bananas and love.
The greatest weakness that the event had was the handling of scene changes, as the backstage crew seemed to struggle moving props with only two stage hands. At one point, the actors and audience sat in the darkness for a prolonged time waiting for the scene change. The incident did not repeat itself in the play, however, and in fact, the handling of lighting in The Experiment and June 22 contributed to both performances’ overall success. The lighting in June 22 effectively offered a solemn vibe to the story. Different characters were placed under spotlight during their scene, only to return to a frozen position in the shadows as the focus changed to a different part of the stage and different narrative. This meant the story unfolded slowly, as the audience pieced together what happened by listening to successive explanations given by the actors in turn.
Overall, the plays made up for any slight technical mishaps with great stage directions and comedic timing that made the experience a delight.