Three characters rush around to pick up a plate, choose an outfit and shout directions to put everything they have learned into practice in one final public test.
This is not the plotline from the next stage show at the Bud Frank Theatre, but the story of the three student directors who will bring the next show to life.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday three plays will be presented by the ETSU Division of Theatre’s Advance Directing class as the final project assigned by theatre professor Bobby Funk.
The plays will be performed in repertory, with two shows playing each day until all three are seen twice. “It’s important they get an opportunity on main stage and have an audience reaction,” Funk said.
The directors are senior theatre major Allyson Pavone, directing “Wasp”; senior English student T.J. Kent, directing “Art”; and Virginia Highlands Community College adjunct professor Dona Lee, directing “Eleemosynary.”
While the other two students chose plays from a pool of short productions collected by Funk, Pavone pitched “Wasp” to Funk.
Since it met the requirements of being a short, technically simple, yet full-length play, Pavone was allowed to direct it.
The play, written by American actor Steve Martin and published in 1996, is set in suburbia and tackles the image of a middle class, nuclear family.
“It will look like ‘Leave it to Beaver,’ a slice of Americana,” said Pavone, who has taken the class once before. “It captures an era but I also want people to see that it’s still going on today.”
Still in the comedy vein, T.J. Kent chose “Art” by French playwright Yasmina Reza to project a different form of humor.
“Most everything I’ve done has been screwball comedy,” Kent said. “I tried to pick something serious, but this mixes seriousness with high brow comedy. It’s exactly what I want.”
The piece explores the depth and strength of friendship in a situation that on the surface is trivial. One of the characters purchases a painting of three white stripes for $200,000, which causes a stir among his friends.
The point of the play, Kent said, is not the painting itself, but the issues it brings up in the character’s friendship. “The play questions us a lot on why we are friends with who we are and what our relationship can withstand,” Kent said.
Originally written in French, “Art” was translated into English by Christopher Hampton, who wrote the screenplay for the Academy Award nominated film Atonement.
Originally set in Paris with older characters, Kent has adapted the play to New York City and changed the ages of the characters to relate more to the ETSU audience. “In the U.S., with them younger, it will relate more to the college students,” Kent said.
The third play, directed by Dona Lee, is “Eleemosynary” written by Lee Blessing.
The piece explores yet another set of relationships, this time intergenerational. The characters are three women: the powerful matriarch grandmother Dorothea; Artemis, or Artie, the middle generation who is brilliant yet prone to flight; and 16-year-old Echo who has been raised by both.
“It’s about dysfunctional families,” Lee said. “Its something everyone can relate to.”
The title and the definition of the word, “Eleemosynary” is defined as “relating to charity, alms, or almsgiving” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary.
Through the dialogue, the characters discover that this word describes them best. “Nobody knows what it means,” Lee said. “You have to come to find out.”
Coordinating schedules and working with student actors have not been the only challenges faced by the directors.
Since the productions are part of a class, the only budget for props and costumes is what the directors can themselves afford and the only technical work being done by someone else is lighting, Kent said.
Teacher Funk said his role is not to tell them what to do. “I just sit and watch the rehearsals and give them some advice on what to do better,” Funk said.
Since the plays are appearing at the end of the semester, the directors as well as Funk are looking for a good turnout, but understand that schedules may not allow for one.
“It’s going to be a good time that hopefully they [students] can relate to,” Pavone said. “It’s right before finals, take a couple of hours and come see a show.”
The shows will be performed over three days, with two showing each day. “Art” and “Eleemosynary” will premiere Friday night at 7:30 p.m., “Eleemosynary” will show again along with “Wasp” on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and “Wasp” and “Art” will both be performed on Sunday at 2 p.m. Admission is free to the Bud Frank Theatre in Gilbreath Hall.
Funk encourages students to come not only to see student-directed plays, but also to see these particular plays. “They’ll really enjoy them,” Funk said. “These are three top notch plays, not just silly little shows. They are all award-winning plays that I think people will enjoy seeing.

Author