Spring Break
Student-directed plays make social commentary
Doug T. Graham/Verge Reporter
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: The Verge
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These plays are an opportunity for upperclassmen theatre arts majors to direct a one-act theater production on the collegiate level.
The two directors chosen for this semester are Bailey Murphy and Rich Aguilera, both senior theatre arts majors.
The plan is for Murphy's play "God of Hell," which is estimated to be an hour long, to be performed first and Aguilera's play "Cowboys and Indians" to be performed second.
An intermission will be sandwiched between the two plays to allow for the set to be changed.
"God of Hell" was written by Sam Shepard in 2004 about the dangers of powerful governments.
The play is set at the home of a husband and wife who are made to endure constant and invasive searches by a mysterious government employee named Mr. Welch.
Murphy said that Shepard wrote the play in an attempt to prevent President Bush from being re-elected, and - even though that didn't happen - the play is still relevant because of its portrayal of what can go wrong when a government agent has too much power.
The second play of the evening will take a lighter look at the possible dangers of power.
"Cowboys and Indians," a half hour comedy written by Eastern alumnus and former Hello Dali cast member Brian Aycock, is about the battle for the White House in an exaggerated version of America.
The two candidates are Democrat Michael Holloway, a black senator from Indiana, and Republican Timmy Shepard, whom Aguilera describes as a "40-year-old man who dresses in a children's cowboy outfit and acts like a 5-year-old."
Both plays will be shown in "tennis court style," which puts the actors in the middle of two banks of seats not unlike tennis players would be in a match.
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