Too Much Light… Makes the Baby Go Blind?!

The Ursinus College Theater Department is launching their production of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: “30 Plays in 60 Minutes” TODAY through Sunday, March 8th. This wildly unique play involves 30 different two(ish)-minute plays put on by the actors during the hour duration. What’s the catch? The order is completely random. With the help of the audience and a timer, these actors are ready to bring a chaotically fun play to the Ursinus community. Professor and Director Domenick Scudera of the Theater Department shared, “They are short plays that are approximately two minutes apiece. Some are longer, some are shorter, but hopefully the actors will get a chance to do all 30 within the 60-minute time limit.” Despite being short plays, the actors had to memorize all the different plays, to be ready to perform at the drop of a hat. These plays range in genre, some silly and light-hearted, some following a more serious tone. Scudera continued to explain, “The audience will determine the order of the plays, so the actors don’t know what order they will be doing the plays. Every night, it’ll be different.” In the spirit of audience participation, the stage will be set with 30 flags on a clothesline, waiting to be selected as the next number to be performed. “When a play is finished, the audience is instructed to yell out the numbers of what they want next,” Scudera remarked. Yelling in a theater is not normally recommended, but in this case, it is required! Out of the roughly 20-member cast, a larger one than seen in other typical productions, each actor performs around 5 plays each. “The challenge [with rehearsing] has been the inability to anticipate,” commented Lauren MacAllister ’27, an English and Creative Writing major with a minor in Theater. She added on, “The order is determined by the audiences and that can mean literally anything. It is such a unique challenge that we are meeting with determination and excitement!” Another striking aspect of this play is who the actors are representing. “We’re all playing ourselves playing characters. When we are introduced in a show, it’s our real names,” remarked Maggie Diaz ’28, a Theater and Psychology major. The excitement doesn’t end there – the actors never leave the stage, even if they aren’t in the current play! “They will hear the number, and they have to get in place. So, they have to memorize, you know, where do I go for each of these 30 plays?” Scudera added. When they are not performing, they are assisting with setup, getting everything ready in merely a few seconds. “This is the first show I think I’ve ever done, where we never leave the stage,” remarked Diaz on her experience having to remain onstage for the full hour. One thing this play involves is teamwork, and the actors and stage crew alike have put in the work to make it happen. “The most exciting part of this show has been learning to work as a cohesive ensemble. We all have to rely on each other and work together to make this production special and a thrilling experience!” MacAllister exclaimed. With such a unique nature, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind is designed to provide unusual entertainment to Ursinus. “The show is full of so much life and laughter, which I think we could all use a bit of nowadays,” highlighted MacAllister. Performances will run on the following days: Thursday, March 5, 7:30pm Friday, March 6, 7:30pm Saturday, March 7, 7:30pm Sunday, March 8, 2pm – ASL Interpreted Performance The Theater Department encourages all to attend this interactive experience while they can. As an audience, the show is catered towards YOU! “At the end of the day, it’s not, ‘we’re performing for them. We’re performing with them,’” concluded Diaz.