Marie Sykes masykes@ursinus.edu
Have you ever tried watching a newspaper? Well, on COSA 2022 you can watch a production of a living newspaper brought to you by Dr. Meghan Brodie’s theater capstone class. Experience a live telling of climate change, a topic very important to the class, brought to you live.
When asked about their favorite parts of the show, Marrero answered that she loved “learning about people from different walks of life” while Ryan said it was “seeing how everyone’s collective part of this adaptation to make a whole emotional concise story.” Emily Bradigan ‘23 and Naomi Marin ‘23 both also said they liked the “Rising Sea Level” scene and the monsoon, but, like much of the team, they agreed that the ending was one of their favorite parts of the show. Wolf didn’t want to “give anything away, but I always get the chills” while Foley told us that she may be “a little biased because [she] wrote it,” but it effectively drives home the “sense of urgency and power” they want the audience to feel. I will leave it to you to watch the ending to discover what happens.
When asked what the team is most excited about, Tabackin shared that she loved getting to combine her acting and writing theater classes into one production and utilize her design skills from classes like lighting or sound design and “to be able to take those skills and make them meaningful.” She also continued saying that it gave the class “an opportunity to get much closer” since they are “all in charge [with] little to no outside help.” It really made the class feel like it was in the “real world” of arts. Bradigan shared that they loved seeing “how everything comes together” from brainstorming to the dialogue to truly “immerse the audience.” Foley said she was most excited to “see all [of their] hard work pay off” during the COSA performance after this “huge endeavor,” and Wolf says she is so excited for everyone to see the final product, their “baby.” They poured so much time into the design and technical work and it will be the show to see after a semester of wonderful productions.
For seniors, this was their last semester on the Ursinus stage. Both seniors interviewed performed in Sweat, the culmination of their theater careers, and had a hand in Rocky Horror, but this show was different. Ryan said that it was the final product of how the theater department “really rounds itself out properly” and pushes them to answer the Quest Questions we have all tackled since CIE. “It culminates it into a point where the past four years makes sense as for how we were analyzing everything because we are now putting everything we have learned for the last four years into action.” Marrero is grateful to have another “one last time” after Sweat and to get to perform with the theater family.
When asked what they wanted the audience to know, Wolf, the director herself, warned the audience “If you’re looking for a relaxing day at the theater then this is not the show for you. Living Newspaper productions are designed to make the audience think and force them to observe certain situations from different POVs than their own. These shows are designed to make you leave the theater thinking about how you can make a difference and what you can do to make the world better.”
If you’re looking for a relaxing day at the theater, then this is not the show for you. Living newspaper productions are designed to make the audience think and force them to observe certain situations from different POVs than their own. These shows are designed to make you leave the theater thinking about how you can make a difference and what you can do to make the world better.” – Ali Wolf 2022