By Julia Ballard
Since the fall semester the Trevecca theater department has put on shows based on the theme “Season 180,” which is about the audience putting themselves into another’s shoes and gaining perspectives in order to understand the reality of others.
“The shows make you think about doing what is right even when no one is looking,” says Sierra Hodgson, a freshman information technology major and cast member of “Life is a Dream”.
Earlier in the year the Trevecca theater department put on “Freaky Friday a New Musical”, “The Prince and the Pauper” and most recently “Life is a Dream”, which is a Golden Age Spanish play that warps reality and alters the perception of the actors and audience.
Despite Covid still being very prevalent, audience numbers have stayed up.
For “Life is a Dream”, three of the shows were sold out and the rest averaged 30 to 35 audience members.
“The stage had a small house set up. There were only 36 seats, so we knew we would have just a few each night,” said Dr. Jeffery Frame, communications professor and lead director for Trevecca theater.
“This show [“Life is a Dream”] kind of has a darker tone than our other shows this season,” said Kimberly Weir, a sophomore dramatic arts major and costume supervisor for “Life is a Dream”.
Cast members say the show has been hurried, with only four weeks to put the final play on stage.
“We knew it was going to be tight because of the calendar with Easter and TNT. The cast took it seriously and they were ready mentally,” said Frame.
A decrease in Covid cases on campus has made masks no longer mandatory at shows and rehearsals.
“It was just very difficult during the rehearsal process because you can’t see people’s faces, so all you have to go off of is their body language. Acting is a matter of playing off of other people you have a scene with,” says Evelyn Palmliden, a sophomore history and vocal performance major and cast member in the show.
Thanks to timing, none of the productions this year required actors to face coverings during the actual shows.
“We’ve been blessed with this very fortunate circumstance,” says Hodgson.
As the theater season comes to its close, the program has one more event titled “Mosaic” which is the theater’s annual staged reading of one-act plays written by students.
“The excitement and energy has been really high. I think in some ways that’s opening doors to do new work and things,” says Frame.
