By Bobby Bourke
Bluffton University’s play direction class presented a 10-minute play festival on April 19 and 20 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Ramseyer Auditorium.
Students filed into the auditorium to see a play production from fellow students on campus who were performing in various roles. Each of the four plays performed were around 10 minutes long. The production crew were the people behind the scenes making everything that students were watching happen. Dr. Melissa Friesen was the producer and Merv Schrock was the technical director.
The first play was called “Communication Gap” by Bill Cissna and was directed by Abby Bush. It was about the communication between a male student (Blayden McCoy) and a female student (Jenna Juarez). The female student was talking to the male student through her phone which created a barrier that was used for comedic effect.
The next play was called “Stairway to Heaven” by Gregory Fletcher and was directed by Travon Mason. This play took on a more serious tone where the main character Gil (Carter Ritchey) was at his fathers funeral. Gil was dealing with the loss while also coming to terms with being the man of the house going forward by talking with his sister Elisa (Meredith Myers).
The play “After” by Carol K. Mack was directed by Jordyn Garmatter. This play was about a girl named Cindy (Juarez) having a dream about humanity that she is not supposed to know. Cindy’s memory is wiped by Glynda (Garmatter).
The final play of the night was called “Inside the Department of the Exterior” by Philip Hall and was directed by Dane Chiles. This play is about a man (Mason) trying to buy a mailbox from a department store. Comedic relief came with a back and forth with the woman working the desk (Bush) as they continued to miscommunicate.
“I loved both roles I was in, I directed a play and I was a main character in another play,” said Mason. “I love being involved in theater because it allows me to work on my leadership skills as a director. It also allows me to take guidance from others as I try to make a role on paper come to life.”
For more information on how to be involved in various theater activities happening on campus, contact Dr. Melissa Friesen, the Professor of Theater and Communication, at frisenm [at] bluffton.edu.
