by Alyssa Nehring–Morningside College had the opportunity Sunday to showcase its theater students in the world premiere of a selection of Mohana Rajakumar’s 10 minutes plays.
The afternoon showcased four 10 minute plays: Good Neighbors, The Lesson, Our Sons, and This is Not a Drill. All were performed by students and directed by students. The series of plays focused around one central theme: Diversity. Each play tackled differences, like cultural, religious/extremist, sexuality, and personal opinions in a comedic way.
After the show, there was a Q and A with the student actors and directors as well as Rajakumar. This was the first time that Rajakumar has seen her plays in production. This is something a playwright waits for from the first word written in the play. “Everyone comes together to build the plays.” says Rajakumar. “When you’re writing you don’t know if it will come together. It was really great to see it come together.”
For most of the student directors, it was their first time directing. “Generally, you either love directing or you hate it. I loved it,” said Engels Perez, student director of The Lesson. “I learned so much from the actors while building this play. It helped me build a stronger passion for the theatre.”
Whereas Jared Martin, student director for This is Not a Drill, found himself enjoying other parts of the theatre, “It’s a lot. It was a good experience, but I’ll go back to playwriting.”
The actors were also challenged. Some roles force the actors out of their self to be something that they aren’t always comfortable with. Brock Bourek and Eric Wells played characters that identify as homosexual. Bourek explained, “Being heterosexual, we had to rely on each other to build a relationship that we were comfortable with.”
Rajakumar’s Dimmitt Fellowship will continue throuugh March 23. During her fellowship, Rajakumar will be hosting one final public event, a lecture on “Making Rivers in the Desert: What Americans Can Learn Living Abroad.” This event will focus on Rajakumar’s personal experiences living and working in the Middle East and her belief in the value of such experiences as a means of understanding ourselves and the world around us better. This event will be held in UPS Auditorium on Mar. 20 at 7 pm.
All of Rajakumar’s main events are free and open to the public. If you are interested in learning more about Rajakumar’s visit, please contact Dr. Christina Triezenberg, Assistant Professor of English, via email at triezenbergc@morningside.edu. Rajakumar’s fellowship is partially funded by a grant from Humanities Iowa.
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