New Directions

The festival presented young directors producing existing texts for the theatre, continuing the tradition of the UpStart festival, of presenting emerging theatre talents from both UW and the local community.

We showcased VANITIES by Jack Heifner, presented by three students as part of their undergraduate thesis project. A hilarious and poignant look at evolving feminine attitudes to sex and the world, the play charts the progress of three fast and very determined friends through high school and university in the 1960s and 70s. The production has been entirely directed, designed and produced by three Drama majors: Andrea Ferguson, Kara Harun and Kristin Wallace.

We also presented five other excerpts or one-act plays, directed by students of our directing class, led by faculty member Joel Greenberg. They are:

FEATURING LORETTA

By George F. Walker
Directed by Jennifer Lorbetski

Part of Walker's "Suburban Motel" series, "Featuring Loretta" was a fast-paced comedy about a girl willing to do anything to keep her options open, the two guys trying to help her, and a very confused motel maid along for the ride.

HELLO OUT THERE

By William Saroyan
Directed by Michelle Logan

Echoing voices that transcend through time haunted the stage in this adapted version of William Saroyan's play. The story of a criminal doing time for rape, the play also demonstrated how love can be more powerful than a key to truly set someone's spirit free.

HOWL

By Allen Ginsberg
Adapted and directed by John Trihn

HOWL explored willing self-exposure to suffering. We all make choices, and sometimes willingly choose the path that will lead to heartbreak. Does experience make us a witness? Does it justify our choices? This project interpreted and expressed Ginsberg’s work through movement and spoken word. What is it that motivates a person to keep moving, to keep living when surrounded by utter desolation? Perhaps it is hope? Perhaps it is something else.

CRIMES OF THE HEART

By Beth Henley
Directed by Michelle Jedrezjewski

Lenny, Meg, and Babe McGrath are three sisters, reunited when Babe is arrested for shooting her husband. As the story unfolded, so did their secrets, as well as the unique bond that lies hidden in their lives.

TOUGH!

By George F. Walker
Directed by Vik Kovac

Set in the early 90's, an alienated working-class youth on the edge of adulthood is forced to make tough decisions, in the process discovering her inner strength, and the limitations of her reliance on the other people in her life.