Taylor Hannon
thannon@uwyo.edu
The lights slowly fade to darkness. The mummer of the audience begins to quiet down. A single strobe light shines on stage and a figure appears out from behind the curtain.
Two and a half months of preparation all comes down to these two nights. The actors and actresses are on edge, the directors nervous in their chairs and the audience not knowing what to expect.
The student directed one act plays on the University of Wyoming campus are put on by the theater department every two years. This event started with Leigh Selting before he became the department head and have been running for close to twenty years. In order to take part in this opportunity students must be in the Directing Two class offered at UW.
Three students, Samantha Ryan, Neal Petz and Jen Wilber, in the Lighting Two class offered at UW were each assigned a director for the project.
Another class that participates in this production is the Stage Management class that is required for all performance majors. This class currently has six students and each student must stage manage or assist in stage managing a show. The stage manager for the student directed one-acts is Riley Wisler.
The three different plays being performed are: “Cabin 12” written by John Bishop and directed by Blake Watson, “The Man who Turned Into a Stick” written by Kobo Abe and directed by Tyler Wolfgang and “Second Best Dad” written by Tim Kelly and directed by Lucas Slade.
Plays were chosen in the beginning of February and casting took place at the end of February. Auditions were held and open to anyone on campus. Late nights followed which included rehearsals from 9-10 p.m. or even 10-11 p.m., directors have been working with their cast for around 4 weeks.
“It’s really interesting to have it be all student created, it’s not just me, it’s mainly the actor’s interpretation, the lighting designers interpretation and the musicians interpretation.” Tyler Wolfgang, junior, said. “I just guide what my vision is. I don’t want to change what they bring to the table.”
Wolfgang chose a Japanese playwright, which meant the theater department had to get the rights from Japan, as opposed to other directors who chose plays written in the U.S. Wolfgang explained they had to find someone else in the U.S. who had also done the act. This individual ended up being at a college in Maine, who then told them who to talk to in Japan for the rights. Wolfgang also said the language barrier with Japan was another challenge to face.
“My freshman year I saw the student directed one acts and I really wanted to be a part of it when it came time for me,” Wolfgang said.
Wolfgang said he has learned how to communicate on all fronts due to this experience, whether it be the actors, technicians or professors.
“Its not my job to change anything that others bring forth, it’s my job to influence the creation process. We’re all artists, this is a form of art [theater] and a play can bring so much,” Wolfgang said.
Wolfgang said the most memorable moment throughout the entire process was the first rehearsal because watching his actors and actresses read the script being both confused and mesmerized by it, was one of his best moments.
“There is so much excitement around there, excitement with the actors, excitement with me,” Wolfgang said.
Senior, Riley Wisler, stage manager described his experience quite differently. He gets to decide when actors are called and released, call out cues throughout the show and much more.
Wisler said that productions as short as a one acts can have around 100 lighting and sound cues, and his team in in charge of all that.
“I’m enjoying the responsibility that comes with stage managing as well as how it’s helping to make me more organized,” Wisler said. “I don’t plan to do this again, however. I’m absolutely a performer at heart.”
The theater department is hoping for a full house for both nights, although not many tickets have been sold right now.
“I think the directors, designers and performers have done some really good work on these pieces. The performance is definitely worth attending,” Wisler said.
The one acts took place in the studio theater in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts April 8 and 9.
