Witness Theatre stages student plays

The Witness Theater Fall Showcase held in Swirnow Theater this past weekend was the perfect respite for someone who needed a creative boost at the end of a tiring week of midterms.

This theatre group is unique in that it handles everything related to the production, from directing to staging, and this weekend, they put on four short student-written plays.

This Fall Showcase was produced by junior Matt Pulaski, a junior and also the president of Witness. Swirnow is the lesser known neighbor of Mattin Center, but it hosts a pretty neat stage that is perfect for small-scaled stage productions like this showcase.

This set a private and personal atmosphere in the room, with the audience seated close enough to absorb every expression and emotion shown by the actors.

The background sets for each short piece was also very impressive; no detail was overlooked as pictures were hung just right and chairs were placed in perfect positions — all to maximize the impact of the play on the audience.

The first play of the showcase was Water Fable by Tamar Nachmany.

It was about an 80-year old grandmother played by Jackie Rose and was an interesting take on a sketch. The story was told in a stripped-down fashion with focus resting solely on Rose sitting on a solitary arm chair. Rose did an exceptional job of portraying the eccentric, almost other-worldly grandmother who reminisced about her family and grandchildren who used to play by a lake.

Water Fable had an ambiguous plot, and those who did not give their full attention would have trouble fully appreciating the artistic value of it.

The second play could not be more different from the first, as the fast paced Check Mate was set in a modern diner.

It focused on two friends named Benjamin (junior Marc Reisner) and Brad (Matt Pulaski) who were having a meal at the diner.

Brad was frustratingly recounting to Benjamin his misfortunes in finding a job. His mood did not improve as the waitress on duty (Rose) failed to serve Brad to his expectations.

The emotional outbursts kept on coming when Brad found out Benjamin refused to give him a job (which he ironically claimed was due to his emotional outbursts).

Fittingly, the play ended with a final, dramatic outburst that saw Brad storm off the scene. This play definitely engaged the audience more, and I definitely felt like personally yelling at Brad more than once throughout the play.

The next sketch was called Loving is Mainly Just Forgetting. This short, adorable play by Ellen Bruner revolved around a teenage couple who met at a carnival fair, played by freshman Stephanie Chew and sophomore Morris Kraicer. The entire sketch consisted of a rapid exchange of lines between Chew and Kraicer that touched on everything from speed-demons to economics; it kept the audience on their feet! Both did such a good job in depicting the awkwardness and heart-pounding exhilaration that comes from a first date that the audience felt like they were almost intruding into their private rendezvous.

The fourth and final sketch of the showcase was titled Succulent, by Jennifer Diamond. It starred Sarah White who played Amelia, a emotionallyunstable girl with a penchant for painting, and Utkarsh Rajawat as William, a smart-aleck who, beneath his sarcasm, just wanted to help her get through a tough time in her life. This short but poignant play allowed the audience to listen in on Amelia and Will’s conversation while Amelia painted a portrait of him.

We glimpsed a little into the troubled soul of Amelia, who was still hurting from the disappearance of Josh, someone whom she cared very deeply for. She tries to fill the hole in her heart by caring for a Succulent — a plant that does not need water to survive. Those who have tried replacing the loss of something by obsessing over something else can definitely relate to this play. Something worth mentioning was the chemistry between White and Rajawat, as their light-hearted but serious banter really allowed the audience to feel like part of their story.

All in all, the showcase only lasted for about an hour, but it was a well spent one. Hopefully, it managed to attract more people to the ever-exciting world of theater, and perhaps those new faces may turn up on stage in the upcoming November Showcase. Through these and other well-written shows, Witness Theatre gives everyone the chance to stop practicing their Shakespeare lines in their room, and to step in the limelight.