MUN Diploma students bring Stories to life

When Erin Alexander and Brittany Stevens registered for English 4401 this semester, they didn’t know what they were getting into.

“I really had no idea how much planning and work goes into producing a play,” said Alexander, a third-year drama and music student, about English 4401: Producing the Play. Stevens, a fourth-year linguistics student, echoed the same sentiment: “I’ve never had to work so closely with a real production team and a budget and everything.”

Producing the Play is one of the six courses offered as part of the Diploma in Performance and Communications Media, available through the Faculty of Arts and the Department of English. Stevens and Alexander are both in their second year of the program.

Throughout the semester, students of Producing the Play have been working on 7 Stories, by Canadian playwright Morris Panych, under the direction of Brad Hodder. The class will culminate in the public performances of 7 Stories in the last week of November.

7 Stories tells of an unnamed protagonist teetering on the ledge of the seventh story of an apartment building. While he stands on the edge, he encounters many of the peculiar and striking residents of the floor.

“There are seven windows and the people inside each have different stories to tell. Through his interactions with them, you learn about the protagonist,” explained Alexander.

“It’s very dryly-written; a pretty subtle, quick kind of humour, but it’s very smart. It’s a great script that makes me laugh out loud, even after I’ve read and seen it a hundred times,” added Stevens.

The production showcases the acting talents of several students in the class, as well as students enrolled from other disciplines at Memorial, and even university staff. “I have a newfound respect for publicists,” laughed Alexander, who is the publicist for the newly-formed Bumbershoot Productions, the theatre company created by the students of the course to produce the show. Stevens is one of the assistant directors on the project.

Students are responsible for all aspects of the theatrical production, from taking on roles such as assistant directors and publicists, to handling props and costume design. “Getting to learn about other jobs behind the scenes is really cool too,” said Alexander.

Both Stevens and Alexander noted that working on the production has been an incredible learning experience for them, describing the practicality of the course as a great introduction to the industry.

“Networking is a huge benefit. I’ve made contacts with people at CBC, the Telegram, the Current, and other major publications in the city while trying to promote 7 Stories,” said Alexander.

Stevens added, “I feel like if I wanted to work with a production company around town, or even start my own, [I could.]”

7 Stories begins Wednesday, Nov. 25 and runs until Saturday, Nov. 28. The show starts at 8:00 pm at the Reid Theatre, in the Arts and Administration Building. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at the door.