Tag: theater

“What If?” by Chris Hope

I’m the type of person who thinks way too much about things, whether that be about decisions I make or about media I watch or listen to. Funnily enough, both of those aspects of myself fit together perfectly, because the past two weeks I’ve had working on the Harrington Theatre Arts Company’s recent production of the show If/Then. If you weren’t able to catch it, the story of If/Then focuses on Elizabeth and two timelines branching out from a single decision: one where she chooses to go with her newfound friend Kate (who calls her Liz) and one where she chooses to go with an old college friend Lucas (who calls her Beth). That single decision has a huge effect on her life as well as the lives of her friends and acquaintances. People who may meet and fall in love in one may never meet at all in the other, all because of a single decision. I, like many people, also tend to think long and hard over the possibilities that are presented in life’s choices; there can be advantages and pitfalls to such overthinking, but there are of course ways that media such as If/Then explore how one can overcome all of those pitfalls.

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“Lessons Learned in a Busy Week” by Chris Hope

This semester has been quite the busy one, though it might be hard to find someone who won’t relate to that statement. Midterms ending some weeks ago, fall break on the horizon but just out of reach; it can be a time of wanting a rest from what just was, but not being able to have that rest just yet. For myself, a piece of that business has been occupied by the recent showing of HTAC’s Shrek the Musical and the Tech Week preceding it. 

For the unaware, Tech Week for a theatre company is the week before opening night where all hands are on deck with daily rehearsals and constant work to improve upon performance and technical aspects, which in my case included creating or improving the show’s props and finding places for them backstage. Over the course of the week I realized that the sort of shifting emotions and work relate to the way they similarly shift throughout the academic semester, and each day has a way to be summarized and has something that can be learned from it. With that said, here are some lessons I learned from each day of Tech Week.

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“Theater-Going during a Pandemic ” by Hayley Whiting

Since the pandemic began, one of the things I’ve missed about no longer being able to be within six feet of anyone else is attending theater shows. There’s nothing like grabbing a free REP (Resident Ensemble Players) ticket from the Honors College building for one of their Honors at the Arts opportunities and heading to the Roselle Center for the Arts for an evening of theater. I also really enjoy attending shows put on by E52, a student theater group at UD! Sadly, I can no longer head to the Bacchus Theater or Pearson Hall to see a student-run show, but I have been enjoying theater from both the REP and E52 from my safely distanced couch!

This semester, the REP (UD’s very own professional theater company) is not to be stopped by COVID! In September, they put on a free, one-act, comedic Zoom play titled “Who’s in Charge” that recounted a meeting of all of the REP actors and the REP Producing Artistic Director so that they could decide what they would perform this semester. This play definitely did not disappoint—as always, the actors were spot on, and I was laughing the whole time! I’ve also really been enjoying the REP’s free audio presentation of Dracula, based on Bram Stoker’s novel. I’ve never listened to an audio performance of theater before, but the characters and story really come to life in this perfectly creepy, five-part adaptation—I would definitely recommend grabbing some garlic and taking a listen!

If you want to join in on the REP’s performances this semester, Dracula is still streaming on their website until November 22: https://www.rep.udel.edu/presentations/dracula. Until November 22, they also are currently offering another audio performance called Are you Now or Have You Ever Been, a fictional portrayal of the night in March of 1953 before Langston Hughes must answer to the Subcommittee on Investigations on Un-American Activities during Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Communist witch hunt: https://www.rep.udel.edu/presentations/are-you-now-or-have-you-ever-been (I’m looking forward to listening to this one!). Later on, in December, the REP will also be offering an audio performance of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol to put you in the holiday spirit: https://www.rep.udel.edu/presentations/a-christmas-carol. Continue reading

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