I bet you need a way to power through the daunting pre-frolics week (okay, three days). Instead of camping out in a carrel with some stale coffee, you should head over to New Summit at 8pm Wednesday night to see [title of show].
What is [title of show], you ask? I will tell you, imaginary reader. [title of show] is a fully student-produced show put on by juniors Ian Thomson and Haley DeLuca. Honestly, that alone should sell you on it, because I’d show up just to hang out with them.
It’s pretty cool to have your pipe dream come to life, and that’s what is happening for Thomson and DeLuca, who “have been talking about doing something like this since freshman year, and [are] really excited that it’s finally happening…there hasn’t been a student-produced show here during our time as students, and we both felt that it was important to our college experience to bring something of this nature to the school and have that be our legacy when we leave.”
With all four actors in the show heavily involved in Providence Gap, the theatre department’s most recent production, scheduling was tough—and obtaining rights to the show was even trickier.
So what makes it worth the trouble? “We’re both excited to have this kind of project on campus,” says DeLuca. “We’re hoping that it opens doors for other people to take on things like this and fill the campus with more art. It’s also just going to feel really good to have all our hard work put out there.”
The play, which is “essentially a musical about people trying to make art,” isn’t that far from the Davidson experience, so it should be ripe with identification (and more than a little commiseration). Hearing Thomson and DeLuca describe [title of show], I found it incredibly relevant to life here, especially with finals approaching (seriously, don’t ask about the state of my to-do list).
“[title of show] is about real people who procrastinate, fight, have writer’s block, experience insecurities, and doubt themselves, but also love each other a lot, are passionate about something, and emerge victorious.” Seriously, get out of my head.
The similarities didn’t escape Thomson or DeLuca, either. In fact, they played a major part in choosing the show. “[title of show] is a small-scale, contemporary musical with themes centering on self-expression and the creative process of musical theatre as a genre…we felt like it echoed our own experiences in really cool way. As the process of putting the show together went on, we found ourselves drawing even more parallels between us and the characters.”
It’ll be funny. It’ll be cathartic. It’ll be a break from research papers, zoning out, and fluorescent lighting (looking at you, Club Libz). Thomson and DeLuca add, “It’ll be a great kickoff to frolics as well.”
Still not convinced? Nummit’s having a drink deal during the show! $2 beer and $4 wine. You’re officially out of excuses. See you there.