The student-run theater company Out of the Box is highlighting the female experience through performance.
“Get Loud: A Weekend of Action!” is a weekend-long festival featuring plays about women. The festival is at 8 p.m. Oct. 10-11.
Harley Harris, theatre and performance junior, is directing “Ophelia Underwater” by Janielle Kastner.
“‘Ophelia Underwater’ is about a modern version of ‘Ophelia’ from ‘Hamlet’ trying to find her voice after death and determining if her life was a comedy or a tragedy,” Harris said. “It gives a different perspective on Ophelia and if she actually went mad, or if Hamlet’s perception of her got skewed.”
Harris said they found the play a few years ago.
“One of my friends showed me ‘Ophelia Underwater’ my freshman year. After I read it, I never stopped thinking about it,” they said. “It’s a ‘one-woman show’ because only one actress is visible the whole time, but other actors’ voices are used off-camera.”
Harris said the cast had three weeks to put the show together.
“It’s all been over Zoom because we’re not allowed to be in the same room as our actors,” they said. “For my show, it’s prerecorded since we filmed in different locations.”
Harris said the show involves discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation.
“I think mental health and mental health with women is important. People play it off as ‘oh she’s crazy’ and brush it off, but I think it’s important to look into how mental health affects women and men,” they said.
Lauren Leppke, theatre and performance junior, is directing “Collaborator” by Yussef El Guindi.
“My show ‘Collaborator’ is a one-woman show,” Leppke said. “It’s about the female experience that touches on the subjects of objectification, women in theater and a psychological analysis of sexual assault. It does this in a fun and comedic way by being serious at some important parts.”
Leppke said Kelsey Bray, acting senior portraying “Cass,” had to do a lot of work to prepare the show, which included memorizing 40 pages of text.
“Rehearsal has really been about character exploration, which is fun,” Leppke said.
Leppke said “Collaborator” is an important show because of the way it portrays women.
“For my show specifically, I’ve read a lot of scripts that highlight one aspect of being a woman. But we’re not just one thing,” she said. “We doubt ourselves. This show highlights all of the aspects of womanhood. It’s about where her strengths and weaknesses lie, and how a woman should be portrayed as real in the media.”
Leppke said the play will stream through Zoom.
“It’s in her bedroom, and it’s live,” she said. “There’s audience interaction at the beginning and the end.”
Bray said the festival is important because it talks about subjects that aren’t always discussed in theater.
“It’s so different to be a straight white man in theater, as opposed to being a woman or a person of color. It tells a story that hasn’t been told in a long time,” Bray said.
Leppke said the festival was inspired by the centennial anniversary of white women winning the right to vote.
“We’re advocating for voting and illuminating the power of the voice,” she said.
Bray said the festival is bringing awareness to female stories.
“I’m really excited for it because it has so many different stories and perspectives that are being spoken about. ‘Collaborator’ is based on one woman and her experience, and ‘Ophelia’ is based on a woman and the people around her,” Bray said.
“Collaborator” will stream at 8 p.m. Oct. 10 on Zoom and “Ophelia Underwater” will stream at 8 p.m. Oct. 11 on Stretch. Information about the performances and streaming can be found on the group’s Facebook page.
Leave a Reply