Water By the Spoonful, the second mainstage of the TheatreOCU season, will open Friday Oct. 31 in the Black Box Theatre in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center.
Mainstages are typically performed in the Burg Theater, but, because of the intimate nature of this particular play, Director Sarah D’Angelo chose to use the Black Box Theatre instead.
A main theme of the play is addiction and substance abuse.
“It’s hard to play a crack addict without doing your research,” said Isaiah Williams, acting sophomore.
Williams plays ”Shoots and Ladders,” a member of an online addiction support group.
The cast of the show studied how addiction affects people in different ways. Each member was asked to give up something they are addicted to for 30 days.
“It’s a side of the universe we don’t want to see. We don’t think about it enough,” Williams said. “We have this preconceived notion about what drug addiction is, what alcohol dependency is but we don’t ever really see it and I think that’s what this play does really, really well.”
Peter Messiah, a drug counselor on campus, came and spoke to the cast during a rehearsal to help them understand their characters. Several members of the cast attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting together.
“It is a really interesting experience,” Williams said. “You just kind of have to draw on all of that to create the character.”
The production has incorporated the use of technology to heighten the theatrical experience. They will project images on a mostly gray set and use working prop cell phones.
“It brings film into live theatre,” said Hannah Arguelles, theater for young audiences and music senior.
Arguelles understudies the role of “Yaz.”
“There are so many families that go through situations like these, whether it’s dealing with addiction or being someone’s support system,” Arguelles said.
“Yaz” is the only character in the show that does not struggle with substance abuse.
“There have definitely been challenges with pulling from real life experiences,” Arguelles said.
Tickets are $12, $8 with a student ID. The show will run for two weekends. Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. There will be an understudy performance at 2 p.m. Saturday.
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