JONESBORO, Ark. — At Arkansas State University, theater productions like “Leading Ladies” depend greatly on the presence of a live audience, many of whom come from the surrounding Jonesboro community.
(Left) Garrett Veal, Zane Brewer, Zoey Newcomb and Donovan Walters playing Duncan, Leo, Meg and Jack, respectively, in A-State Theater’s production of “Leading Ladies.” Photo courtesy of Arkansas State University
While the Department of Theatre produces the show, students alone cannot complete the experience without a live audience. Performing in front of live audiences night after night gives the students the most authentic acting experience possible.
Assistant stage manager and A-State student Emalee Gillean said the difference is noticeable.
“When audiences are reactive, laughing and engaged, our actors can feed off of that energy and put it into our show. Without a real audience, the feel of the show is very different,” Gillean said.
Because theater is performed live, each audience brings something new to the experience.
“Each audience has their own personality,” Gillean said. “Each day, our audiences are entirely different because of the energy they bring to the performance.”
For students who are involved in the production, that interaction is part of what makes theater different from regular classroom experiences. Director DayDay Robinson said students gain valuable insights through productions like this.
“Students gain real, hands-on experience that you just can’t replicate in a classroom,” Robinson said.
That experience is not only about rehearsals, but also performing in front of others and responding to audience reactions in real time. Gillean said audiences include more than just students.
“We see a wide variety of students, professors, family members and Jonesboro community members in our audiences,” Gillean said.
That mix of audience members shows how productions bring the Jonesboro community onto campus while also giving the students a chance to perform for a wider audience. In addition to performance, visual elements also contribute to the audience’s experience. Costume designer Claire Abernathy said actors bring those elements to life on stage.
“The two actors wear the costumes with such confidence and really embrace the fun, absurd playfulness of the moment,” Abernathy said.
For many students, the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience is one of the most important parts of the process.
“We spend months building a show and creating a special experience. Getting to showcase it is the highlight of the process for many,” Gillean said.
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For performers, that connection between the stage and the audience is what makes live theater special. Donovan Walters, a student actor who performed in the A-State Theater production, “Leading Ladies,” said theater is a communal experience.
“Theater is a shared experience that connects a tie between all the people on stage and everybody in every seat,” Walters said.
For a city like Jonesboro, this connection between community and school is valuable.
The university’s theater program depends on community members to attend performances, while those same community members benefit from access to live theater and creative work produced by the students. Both sides have an important role in the success of the school and the community.
The cast of “The Thanksgiving Play,” going through the play one full final time the night before opening night. Photo courtesy of DayDay Robinson.
JONESBORO, Ark.- The Arkansas State University Theater Department rounds out the Fall semester with a show with the perfect blend of satirical comedy and cultural commentary with “The Thanksgiving Play.”
“The Thanksgiving Play” centers around a group of four well-intentioned educators who are trying to come up with and write a Thanksgiving pageant without any Native American representation, but they get trapped in a loop of being socially aware, political correctness and trying to do what they believe is ‘the right thing.’
The play selection committee, which includes the director of The Thanksgiving Play, Dallas Martinez, as well as other professors in the theater department and three students, begins looking at plays for the next season almost a year in advance. They look at productions done in recent years and what the needs of students are.
“We want our students to have a well-rounded resume when they graduate so that it doesn’t show that they have only done one thing. So we start thinking about the needs, such as have we done a language play. Have we done a particular type of musical that takes place in like a golden age versus a modern age? Have we done ensembles? Have we done farces? Things like that so that when they leave here they’re able to not just say, ‘I can only audition for blank,’ right,” Martinez said.
This production takes place in a round in their black box Simpson theater. A round is when the audience is on all sides of the stage and can therefore see the actors at all times. The department typically has one show a season in the Simpson Theater, but this is the first time in several years that it has been set up in the round style.
“My favorite part of being in this production has been doing a show in the black box. I’ve never really had an opportunity to do a show in there, and this show takes place in the round, which means the audience is all around you, so it’s been really fun to dig into new acting skills. And there’s just nowhere to hide,” Zane Brewer, senior theater major from Conway, Arkansas
Joanna Crites plays Logan, a drama teacher and director who wants to put on a culturally and politically correct Thanksgiving play at her school.
Brewer plays Jaxton, Logan’s boyfriend, an actor in the play, and an ultimate yoga bro who is always ready to add his opinion.
Nico Stark plays Caden, a history teacher tasked with keeping the play historically accurate.
Kamyron Lefebvre plays Alicia, an actress hired by Logan as the Native American representation. Logan later finds out that Alicia is not actually Native American and only auditions for roles in different ethnicities. As no one is actually Native American, the four now have to come up with a way to tell the story of Thanksgiving with no native American representation.
This will be Crites’ first time in a leading role; she has been in an A-State production in the past, but it was more of an ensemble position.
“I think every show is very different; there’s really no comparing one show to another in my mind. I think that every cast and every crew, every director is different, and there’s just so much to love about each experience that I get to have. This is definitely the first time that I’ve had such a leading role, and so that’s been really exciting and different for me.”
The four become trapped in a never-ending spiral of social awareness, political correctness, and doing the ‘right thing.’ The audience is sure to leave laughing once they find out what the final concept is for the play they have spent so much time and turmoil putting together.
“Come see the show, ‘cause it’s fun. It’s Thanksgiving. Come out and have a good time. It’s a comedy and they’re gonna leave laughing, we promise. Like it’s really, really fun. They’re just gonna have a great time, it’s the holiday season, come on out people,” Brewer said.
There will be three more performances, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, at the Fowler Center in the Simpson Theater, 201 Olympic Drive. You can purchase tickets online, at the A-State Box Office in First National Bank Arena or by calling (870) 972-2781. For the general public, tickets are $15. A-State students are admitted free with their student ID.
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JONESBORO, Ark.- The Arkansas State University Theater Department rounds out the Fall semester with a show with the perfect blend of satirical comedy and cultural commentary with “The Thanksgiving Play.”
“The Thanksgiving Play” centers around a group of four well-intentioned educators who are trying to come up with and write a Thanksgiving pageant without any Native American representation, but they get trapped in a loop of being socially aware, political correctness and trying to do what they believe is ‘the right thing.’
The play selection committee, which includes the director of The Thanksgiving Play, Dallas Martinez, as well as other professors in the theater department and three students, begins looking at plays for the next season almost a year in advance. They look at productions done in recent years and what the needs of students are.
“We want our students to have a well-rounded resume when they graduate so that it doesn’t show that they have only done one thing. So we start thinking about the needs, such as have we done a language play. Have we done a particular type of musical that takes place in like a golden age versus a modern age? Have we done ensembles? Have we done farces? Things like that so that when they leave here they’re able to not just say, ‘I can only audition for blank,’ right,” Martinez said.
This production takes place in a round in their black box Simpson theater. A round is when the audience is on all sides of the stage and can therefore see the actors at all times. The department typically has one show a season in the Simpson Theater, but this is the first time in several years that it has been set up in the round style.
“My favorite part of being in this production has been doing a show in the black box. I’ve never really had an opportunity to do a show in there, and this show takes place in the round, which means the audience is all around you, so it’s been really fun to dig into new acting skills. And there’s just nowhere to hide,” Zane Brewer, senior theater major from Conway, Arkansas
Joanna Crites plays Logan, a drama teacher and director who wants to put on a culturally and politically correct Thanksgiving play at her school.
Brewer plays Jaxton, Logan’s boyfriend, an actor in the play, and an ultimate yoga bro who is always ready to add his opinion.
Nico Stark plays Caden, a history teacher tasked with keeping the play historically accurate.
Kamyron Lefebvre plays Alicia, an actress hired by Logan as the Native American representation. Logan later finds out that Alicia is not actually Native American and only auditions for roles in different ethnicities. As no one is actually Native American, the four now have to come up with a way to tell the story of Thanksgiving with no native American representation.
This will be Crites’ first time in a leading role; she has been in an A-State production in the past, but it was more of an ensemble position.
“I think every show is very different; there’s really no comparing one show to another in my mind. I think that every cast and every crew, every director is different, and there’s just so much to love about each experience that I get to have. This is definitely the first time that I’ve had such a leading role, and so that’s been really exciting and different for me.”
The four become trapped in a never-ending spiral of social awareness, political correctness, and doing the ‘right thing.’ The audience is sure to leave laughing once they find out what the final concept is for the play they have spent so much time and turmoil putting together.
“Come see the show, ‘cause it’s fun. It’s Thanksgiving. Come out and have a good time. It’s a comedy and they’re gonna leave laughing, we promise. Like it’s really, really fun. They’re just gonna have a great time, it’s the holiday season, come on out people,” Brewer said.
There will be three more performances, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, at the Fowler Center in the Simpson Theater, 201 Olympic Drive. You can purchase tickets online, at the A-State Box Office in First National Bank Arena or by calling (870) 972-2781. For the general public, tickets are $15. A-State students are admitted free with their student ID.
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Kamyron Lefebvre, playing Alicia, and Jo Crites playing Logan in “The Thanksgiving Play” written by Larissa FastHorse. Photo by Amelia Young.
Delta Digital News Service 