Arts, Etc.Television

Students’ plays shine on the stage

"The Boy with Stories in his Pocket” (Eli Hernandez), pulls a new story from a different pocket each day to share with the girl who meets him in the park to play chess. Because she enjoys his stories, he allows her to pick which pocket she would like to hear a story from, but oddly he never offers the back pockets, only the front. / photo by Chrissy Zehrbach
“The Boy with Stories in his Pocket” (Eli Hernandez), pulls a new story from a different pocket each day to share with the girl who meets him in the park to play chess. Because she enjoys his stories, he allows her to pick which pocket she would like to hear a story from, but oddly he never offers the back pockets, only the front. / photo by Chrissy Zehrbach

Matthew Loriso
Staff Writer
photography by Chrissy Zehrbach

The March 7 edition of the Theater Department’s Mini-Theatre Festival may not have had a packed house, but those who showed up were treated to some very entertaining short performances.

Each of the mini-plays was packed with comedy. However, each one also had a more serious issue that was at the center of the story.

The evening opened with “The Game of Life,” a story about two angels in heaven who play, what else, the Game of Life to pass the time. Joey O’Neill did an excellent job portraying Mike, an enthusiastic angel who took the game a little too seriously. His carefree attitude was reminiscent of Mike Seaver in “Growing Pains.” In other words, his performance was fun to watch.

The story took an unexpected turn at the end when the audience was informed that the two characters were dead because they had been shot by the same murderer. This was a deeply dramatic point in the story, which made even more of an impact by its unexpectedness.

After a short break, the exhibition continued with “Fireworks,” which, while funny, had more of a serious tone throughout than the others.

“Fireworks” was the story of a father and two children having a Fourth of July picnic shortly after World War II. The actors’ performances were nicely complemented by subtle lighting techniques, which gave the illusion of fireworks going off above them.

The third play was a little stranger than the rest. “Duet for Bear and Dog” focused on a wild bear, who was chased up a tree by someone’s pet dog. As the dog, played very believably by Anthony Guerrero, waited for his owner to show up, he conversed in a very funny manner with the bear. It was a little odd to see two college students come running on-stage in animal costumes, but there is no denying how funny it was.

The last play, which took place in the Cabaret Theatre, was “The Boy with Stories in His Pockets.” The most noteworthy acting of the evening came from Eli Hernandez, who played the boy. The boy sat up on-stage, slack-jawed and staring blankly off into space as the audience walked into the theater. It was apparent, even before the play officially began, that this play was going to be something special.

As the boy reached into one of his pockets, he took on a whole new identity in different situations, for instance, a child in front of a classroom telling a very flawed version of the history of the world. Each of the personalities was unique and Hernandez pulled off each one without any awkwardness in transition.

The whole show was very entertaining, and the time seemed to fly by. The 30 or so people in attendance were treated by a fun evening of entertainment, made even better by the fact that it was free.

Matthew Loriso can be reached at mloriso@ulv.edu.

During one of the boy’s slightly infactual rants, the girl (Alisha Allred) can no longer stand it and begs him to stop. When asked were he goes when he’s not in the park, the boy responds, “in the pocket.” “The Boy with Stories in his Pocket” was written and directed by Tony DiScala. / photo by Chrissy Zehrbach
Matthew Loriso
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Chrissy Zehrbach
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