Richalyn Miller, Campus Carrier Staff Reporter
On April 11 Berry College Theatre Company tackled the tough issues of infidelity, murder and abuse in their “Plays from Provincetown: A Night of One Acts.”
The production tells three separate stories written by Eugene O’Neill, an Irish-American playwright. The three stories are broken up into three different acts: “Exorcism,” directed by John Countryman, director of theatre, “The Web,” directed by senior Allie Southwood and “Abortion,” directed by senior Spencer Miller.
Traditionally, Countryman offers a selection of plays for the students in the directing class to choose from. Previously, the students chose from a selection of Irish one acts.
“Exorcism” tells the real life story of O’Neill’s suicide attempt in his early twenties. The storyline explores a variety of ideas including depression and forgiveness. The main character Ned, played by freshman Sam Fuller, struggles with an extreme case of depression along with a pending divorce. Ned’s friend, played by freshman Chandler Brooks, tries to help him, even calling Ned’s father, played by Miller.
“The Web” tells the story of Rose, played by sophomore Gabby Guevara, a mother and prostitute in an abusive relationship with her pimp, played by Fuller. Tim, played by senior Gabriel Kelly, is a neighbor who attempts to save Rose from her abusive pimp with unsuccessful results.
“Sam and Gabriel are great,” Guevara said. “I really liked playing off of Sam’s intense energy and I feel like Gabe and I have very sweet moments on stage.”
“Abortion” tells a story of a college athlete, Jack Townsend played by Brooks, who is being celebrated for his fantastic performance in a baseball game. He is elated as he spends time with his fiancee and her family. The brother of the athlete’s former lover, played by senior Donavon Anderson, comes looking for him to confront him about the death of his sister, seemingly caused by the abortion.
Even though the storylines were very controversial, the play received good reviews from students.
“I thought that the acting was fantastic and that the storyline was very relevant to the issues in society today,” said freshman Emily Longino.
Senior Meredith Kagy appreciated the realistic storylines.
“My first reaction to the plays was that they were all very striking,” Kagy said. “Even though they were a little depressing, they got me thinking about real life situations. The characters were relatable with raw emotions. The cast did a really great job, and I was able to connect to the characters. My favorite act was the first one, ‘The Exorcism,’ because story and emotions drew me in, and I connected to them and felt their pain. It was a very relatable to life today even though it was set in the past. The plays showed the commonality of human pain and suffering.”
“Plays in Provincetown: A Night of One Acts” will be showing again on April 25 – 27 at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday in E. H. Young Theatre. Thursday’s show was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.