Proof

The Pulitzer Prize winning drama, Proof by David Auburn, will be performed by the LR Playmakers next week.

The discovery of a mysterious proof, the memory of her crazy father, and the possibility of love overwhelm a struggling woman and push her to her limits. This play follows Catherine, Hal, Claire and Robert through four years of ups and downs, of triumph and meltdowns, and of hope and surrender.

This play is probably most well-known because of the 2005 movie starring Jake Gyllenhal, Hope Davis, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Anthony Hopkins.

Comprised of four seniors, the LR Playmakers production features Katelyn Crawford (-Me-Theatre and Communications double-major) as Catherine, Brendan Chaney (International relations major) as Robert-her father, Cody Watson (Theatre major) as Hal-Robert's student, and Leah Staton (English Education major) as Claire, Catherine's sister.

This show contains strong language and adult content and is not suitable for children. It will be held in the PE Monroe Auditorium on the Lenoir-Rhyne Campus.

Proof runs:
February 23 - 26 at 7:30 PM (Wednesday-Saturday)
February 27 at 2:30 PM (Sunday)

View LR's Theatre webpage for ticket prices and availability.

One-Act Play Festival

In a small auditorium on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University wait seven eager students. They are anxiously waiting to see their vision and hard work performed in front of them.

These same seven students will have worked through an entire semester directing a one act play of their choosing. Starting at the beginning of the Spring Semester with auditions and working through until April the students will get to work with their peers, not as a fellow actor or technician, but as their director.

Each of these seven students is in the Directing II class taught by Mia Self. As a final project each student had to pick a one-act play, cast, direct, and design that play then have it performed in the festival as the fourth show of the L-R Playmakers season.

This festival will begin on April 13^th and run through April 17^th. Though, the seven plays will not be announced until January, each of the seven directors is working hard to find the one-act that is just right for them. “This will be a very rewarding experience for these students. Seeing your work acted out on stage is always a proud moment,” said Mia Self, Directing II professor. Since each of the directors has their own sense of style in the way they direct, there will be a variety of shows to see, come April.

The Directing II class is a continuation of Directing I which is held during the fall semester every other year. In the second portion of the year-long class, students are able to take the knowledge they learned throughout the first half and directly apply it to a project they have full control of. The class is comprised of seven seniors in various majors, four of whom are theatre majors.

What makes this play festival so unique is because L-R has not done anything like this in several years. Though festivals like this one happen all the time at various different schools and theater groups, this is special for the L-R Directing II class because for most of them it is their first time directing something this big.

These one act plays give the students the chance to experience what it is like to direct on their own, giving them a mini real-world experience. Each one-act will be between 20 and 45 minutes in length and the plays will rotate throughout the four days. “I’m hoping to get a rotation that will allow no more than three plays each night, with each of the shows performing at least twice,” said Mia Self who teaches the Directing II class.

“I love this play, and am really glad I get to work with the first act, which is pretty much a full play within itself,” said Liz Lord who will be directing the first act of “DeathTrap”. Liz is the one of the seven students who has settled on a play they want to direct. Amber Ellis D.R. Peek and Cody Watson are directing comedies, while Caroline Albertelli is looking into happier plays about love and romance. Corey Cavenaugh is hoping to find a play that is more dramatic in style, while Liz Lord’s play is a combination of all of the styles.

Auditions for these plays will be a little different than other auditions at L-R. The seven directors will sit in the room, already knowing what days and times they have the rehearsal space for. Each of the actors will have to come with their schedules in hand, that way scheduling conflicts can rule out certain actors for the directors before the audition even begins. All of the actors will take turns reading scenes from each of the plays so the directors have the chance to hear the actors read and get a sense of how they move on stage. After the initial auditions are over the directors will make a list of who, out of the people who auditioned, they want for their one-act; then the directors get to fight over who gets which actors for their play.

The Directing II students will have over half a semester to work with their one-acts, which includes time with and without the actors. They have that time to create the set, sound effects, lighting and blocking. That period of time is slightly longer than the usual rehearsal period for a show at L-R.

It is very possible that some actors get cast in more than just one play, and some of the directors are even going to audition for the other one-acts. Casting is primarily decided based on availability and the number of actors that audition. Audition dates have not been decided upon yet, but will be advertised and posted when the date approaches.

Liz Lord, senior Psychology and Sociology major said, “Directing is something I’ve always been drawn to, I’m glad I got the opportunity to do it before I graduated.”