The curtain rose once again in the Music and Dramatic Arts Building’s Shaver Theatre, marking a dramatic entrance for this semester’s theater season.This semester’s season featured plays from the University’s Lab Theatre and the Swine Palace, as well as the mainstage shows in the Shaver Theatre.”[The Shaver Theatre] fits with the spirit of the institution,” said University President Emeritus William Jenkins. “Now, we have a competitive edge to attract and retain outstanding students and faculty.”The renovation of the Shaver Theatre was part of a 5-year-long, $22 million renovation of the Music and Dramatic Arts Building after a lengthy struggle for state funding and support, according to Ronald Ross, former College of Music and Dramatic Arts Dean.Gresda Doty, alumna professor emeritus who taught at the University for 29 years, said the once aging facilities didn’t match the talent and growing recognition of the school.”Our aging facilities didn’t even keep up — not even close,” Doty said.This semester’s season covered everything from zombies to the classical tragic figure of Antigone.THE ROYAL FAMILY”The Royal Family,” the first play to open in the newly renovated Shaver Theatre, ran from Sept. 16 to Sept. 27.”The Royal Family” is the story of the Cavendish family, a group of actors loosely based on the Barrymore family of which actress Drew Barrymore is a descendant. “When it’s a new show in a new building, you’re worried about what will happen,” said Vastine Stabler, director of marketing and public relations for the theater department. “We’ve been lucky to have a play that was so good.”NONFICTION ZOMBIE”Nonfiction Zombie” was a nontraditional play about a nontraditional topic. Set in the Hopkins Black Box Theatre from Oct. 14 to Oct. 17, the play provided social commentary on the “everyday zombie,” or how culture today has “zombified” society.”You can use [zombies] for just about anything — they’re a really handy tool of criticism,” said Tracy Stephenson Shaffer, communication studies professor and director of “Nonfiction Zombie.”Zombies are a metaphor for anything from the economy to the threat of swine flu, according to Shaffer. She said zombies stand for any unstoppable force. ANTIGONEThe classical play “Antigone” took a rebellious turn with the theater department’s first Greek play since 1999. Performed in the Shaver Theatre from Oct. 19 to Oct. 25, this production of “Antigone” was set in the ‘80s punk scene rather than the traditional Greek setting.”[“Antigone”] makes us think about our values,” said Nick Erickson, cast member and theater assistant professor. “It makes us think how much our government should intrude upon our individual liberties and our rights, and how much should we allow our religious point of view to influence how we rule our government.”The play featured the classic conflict between Antigone and her uncle Creon, represented through the punk movement, which began as a rebellion against established power, said Michael Tick, director of “Antigone.”  TALLEY’S FOLLY”Talley’s Folly” reaffirmed the adage of “love is blind” in an unlikely love story about a middle-aged Midwestern woman and an older Jewish accountant in second World War. The play ran from Nov. 10 to Nov. 16.
“Folly” is the Pulitzer Prize-winning play that features a unique two-person cast with one set and no scene changes.Theatre senior Jason Duga played the part of Matt Friedman, and theatre junior Wendy Bradford plays Friedman’s love intrest Sally Talley.”To get cast in a two-person show is like somebody saying, ‘I think you’re talented enough that I’m going to give you this play and that you can handle being on stage for 97 minutes.” Duga said. “You really want to do a play like this in college because you really want to be challenged.”A SIMPLE ASSASSINATIONTo honor President Lincoln’s 200th birthday anniversary in February, a staged reading of “A Simple Assassination” opened in the studio theater of the Music and Dramatic Arts Building on Dec. 1 and runs until Dec. 6.”It’s very conceptual,” said assistant director Jennifer LeBlanc. “It’s educational to a point, but there’s human interest.”The play focused on the events that happened before and after the death of Lincoln, unfolding like a murder mystery.”[“A Simple Assassination”] reviews those truths of the past not only to remind us of similar disruptive events along the historical path of the American political process, but also to inform us of possible developments in present circumstances,” said Jake Loup, cast member and theater senior.OTHER PLAYSThis semester’s season also featured “A Kind of Alaska” and “The Importance of Being Earnest,” plays that were put on by the lab theater, and “A Halloween Festival: It’s Scary Y’all,” a Hopkins Black Box Theatre production.Next semester will start with “A Night of Ism’s,” a lab theater production that will run Jan. 26 to Jan. 31, and “A Doll’s House,” a Swine Palace production that will run from Feb. 3 to Feb. 21.—-Contact Emily Slack at [email protected]