Witness Theater showcases four new student plays

From a deranged clown to a fed-up driving test instructor, Witness Theater’s Winter Showcase, Four New Plays, presented audiences with a wide range of themes and emotions. Produced by Kate Lynch, the completely student-written and directed plays were performed throughout a three-day event held in the Mattin Center’s intimate Swirnow Theater.

The first play, “Booboos,” written by Utkarsh Rajawat and directed by Annie Davis, featured the eponymous clown as well as an average family that went to drastic lengths to save their son Timmy (Alberto “Pepe” Muiz) from becoming a miserable, lonely human being.

Dressed in a blood-spattered jumpsuit created by costume designer Saraniya Tharmarajah and classic red nose, The Clown (Morris Kracier) creeps out from under young Timmy’s bed to reveal the severed, yet still living, heads of his mother and father (Phoebe Gennardo and Ian Stark). Though never fully explaining itself, the play drew some (intended) discomfort and a lot of laughter from the Sunday afternoon audience.

In a drastic change of tone from the surrealist aspects of Rajawat’s play, “Express Yourself” written by Lily Kairis and directed by Christy Lee, began with a burst of upbeat music. The 1970 hit song “Express Yourself” served as the theme for a radio show hosted by self-help DJ Rae Lynn (Saraniya Tharmarajah). A woman desperately seeking the type of attentiveness and connectedness that she herself tries to teach on her show, Rae Lynn finally believes she has found these traits in a blind date, Josh (Evan Hess).

As she begins to doubt Josh’s sincerity and struggles with her own, we follow her through this reflective, highly relevant story of modern society’s inability to listen and connect with one another face-to-face. Continuously dismissing the emotional needs of her own mother (Kathleen Lewis), Rae Lynn soon discovers her own failure to “practice what you preach.”

Next came a play both written and directed by Alberto Muniz entitled “Another One of Those Gay Things.” After a glimpse into the desires of a gay couple about to adopt a child, Jonathan (John Del Toro), the more eager of the two, gives the audience a hint of what is to come as he asks for advice from his housekeeper Margarita (Kathleen Lewis) on which of the wigs he has purchased looks more feminine. What followed demonstrated a comical commentary on the difficulty of the adoption process, particularly for gay couples, complete with cross-dressing, twerking and acts of love and understanding. Muniz later reflected on the freedom Witness Theater offered in the completion of his play.

“Witness Theater gave me an amazing opportunity by letting me direct, write and act,” Muniz wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “It gives you an overarching perspective on what it means to do theatre, which Witness does very well.”

The final play of the showcase, “Drive,” written by Michael Gentile and directed by Renee Scavone, centered around the front seat of a car. Young Doug McDermont (Brian McConnell), dressed in a prim collared shirt, sat in the driver’s seat while a middle-aged driving test instructor (Utkarsh Rajawat), wearing a stained shirt and tie, sat on the passenger’s side. Doug soon speeds his mother’s car up to 80 miles per hour and declares that he is kidnapping the instructor. What had, at first, appeared to be a more traditional narrative of a driving test gone wrong soon transforms into a darker tale as the two discover a shared desire to escape their miserable, monotonous lives.

A unique element in the telling of Drive involved the physical portrayal of the instructor’s depressing lifestyle as he relays his motives for agreeing to the unusual kidnapping directly to the audience. Furthermore, this play in particular also showcased the elaborate work of Daniel Weissglass and Simon Jackson-Forsberg, the lighting designers and operators for the showcase.

“The lighting was really good,” freshman Sophie Adelman said.

Adelman marveled at the realistic police car and television effects. Others around her could also be seen peeking over their shoulders to see if there really was a television screen behind them.

Another strong technical aspect of all the plays was in the set designed by Grace Mumby, which, with its standard living room and bedroom units, was both detailed and broad enough to accommodate all four plays.

The variety of emotions present throughout appeared to have an impact on the audience members, including freshman Jered McIrney, who attended the showcase to support his friend Annie Davis, director of “Booboos.”

“I came not really knowing what to expect, but I definitely left impressed,” McIrney said. “I definitely laughed a lot, but I also strongly felt the serious undertones in each play.”

Once again, Witness Theater has proven to be a powerful way for students to explore both theater and the impact their own work can have on their peers.

“There’s nothing more satisfying than to see your words come to life, your vision turn into the actor’s vision and your acting change the perspective of the people in the audience,” Muniz wrote.