This winter’s mainstage production at George Luscombe Theatre
The School of English and Theatre Studies presented Sorry, Bus Full: 8 Degrees of Guelph at the University of Guelph’s George Luscombe Theatre from Saturday, March 19 to Thursday, March 24, 2016.
Directed by Alan Filewod and Gordon Harper, Sorry, Bus Full is an original theatrical work devised by student actors and technicians. The production is a multimedia exploration of life on campus in the age of social media. Harper describes the play as “an anthology of micro-stories that braid together to form a composite reflection of university life today from the student perspective.”
Following the lives of eight students, the production covered a number of relevant topics for university students including: relationships, the stresses of tuition, and the pressures to figure out one’s future. Audience members Carlie Goodall and Luke Stewart spoke to The Ontarion about the play’s relevance.
“I think it was fabulous showing what the actual culture is [like] in Guelph. It was very relatable. Almost everything that happened in [the play], I’ve heard about or actually experienced personally,” said Goodall.
“You can see yourself in a lot of the situations and scenes that came up. Or, it’s a side of Guelph you’re not directly a part of, and you got to experience that,” added Stewart.
Headed by Melania Nadj and Scott Campbell, the set—which was coated in grey paint—conjured the feeling of both a blank screen and a stone-faced institution. The graffiti that defaced the set evoked excitement before the show began as words like “obey,” “riot,” and “believe” caught your eye.
Russell Chreptyk and Samuel Ranger headed the play’s media. As the show opened, the use of one screen that seemed to hover above the set showed aerial footage of the University of Guelph’s campus, which provided the audience with a clear sense of time and place. The screen was used extensively and effectively throughout the play to show what the characters were looking at on their various devices, animated images, and more.
The sound design—headed by Sebastian Hutton and Louise Enns—and the lighting design—headed by Tessa Smethurst and Anne-Marie Walters—were executed with impressive precision. In addition to the wonderful touch of a live acoustic guitar and keyboard, the sound design choices created countless environments for the audience quickly and seamlessly. Even as the audience was transported from the intimate space of the bathroom stall to the deafening sounds of a nightclub the sound never overpowered the actors’ voices.
The lighting was similarly well done as it combined with other elements to easily transform a tight rectangle of light into a bus. One of the most visually interesting design choices was having text messages appear across the floor and then whoosh upstage as a character hit “Send.”
Thanks to the costume design headed by Beth Jorgensen and the talent of the cast, one of the funniest scenes in the play was the personification of various popular dating sites. Characters appeared wearing icons around their necks that represented Plenty of Fish, Tinder, and many more. All of them tried and failed to convince a broken-hearted guy that they were the right dating website for him.
The play also incorporated sign language as both language and dance. Although the choice not to translate everything might have frustrated some, it forced the audience to watch in a different way. Like watching a foreign film, all of Aislynn Curran and Amber Sherwood-Robinson’s movements and facial expressions became that much more pertinent and were all the more deeply felt for it. After all, some languages, such as grief, don’t require any utterance.
Kenny Grenier and Chris Kerr stole the show as they took the audience on a safari adventure of the strange creatures that roam the wilderness of a university campus observing from their hiding places magnificent beings like “basic bitches.” Their comedic timing was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience.
Sorry, Bus Full is a testament to the strength of the theatre program at the University of Guelph. All of those involved in this production should be very proud of the entertaining, moving, and insightful work they have created.