Theater can be many things — a joy, a chore, a thrill, a bore. But what it’s not, for many students on this campus, is accessible.
With high ticket prices and sometimes-inscrutable subjects, many plays and theater companies shut out the student body, many of whom are desperate for a new source of entertainment or a fresh creative outlet.
Today, staff writer Danielle Ohl peeks behind the curtain at two movements looking to change the conception about theater on and around campus: a Clarice production that looks to open up taboo conversations, and a local trend that is making shows more affordable for everyone.
Lights up on…
THE ME NOBODY KNOWS
“When The Me Nobody Knows premiered in 1970, society was shaken. Martin Luther King was assassinated just two years prior. Race riots exploded in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement. The Kent State shootings rocked the idea of authoritative power. A broken education system left traumatized teens alone and disillusioned in the face of so much turmoil.
Today, not much has changed — young people still deal with more stress than most give them credit for. Sex and drugs are still taboo. Abuse is often covered up or shamed. The Me NobodyKnows is a place where all of this comes to light — and to a conclusion.”
The Me Nobody Knows
PAY-WHAT-YOU-WANT PRICING
“Imagine walking into a movie theater and asking to see the 7:25 p.m. showing for whatever romantic dramedy is premiering that night. You trade the salesperson your credit card for a ticket. As you slide the card under the glass however, the bored teenager on the other side cracks a rare smile and asks a rarer question: what would you like to pay?”
Pointless Theatre
Tyasia Velines (center} who plays Nell in The Me Nobody Knows, sings “Take Hold the Crutch” onstage at a rehearsal on Tuesday, Sept. 30th. The show debuts on Friday, Oct. 10, in the Kay Theater.
The cast of “The Me Nobody Knows” performs the show at a rehearsal on stage on Tuesday Sept. 30th. The show will debut on Friday Oct. 10 in the Kay Theater.
