AU Players is putting on the first annual New Works Festival which will feature works written, directed, performed and produced by AU students on March 20 and 21. From a modern day take on the “Divine Comedy” to a piece inspired by the law of conservation of energy, the pieces are varied and original. There will be three performances in total: a 10-minute play, a one-act play and a musical.
Claire Tietze, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she was thinking about the law of conservation of energy when the idea for her piece came to her. “Theory of Conservation” is a 10-minute play that takes place in an alternate reality. When a new baby is born, someone else in the family lineage must die to make space in the universe for them. In the play, a woman has a baby and her family realizes no one has died, and they must figure out how that’s possible.
Rebecca Silva, a junior in CAS, is directing the piece.
“Amid birth, bluegrass and bumbling parents, ‘Theory’ shows us that family is much more than biology - it’s love,” Silva said.
AU Player’s Public Relations Director Rosemary Cipriano, a senior in School of Communication, worked on her piece “No Frequent Flyers” for over a year before completing it in October. The one-act play is loosely based on Dante Aligheri’s “Divine Comedy,” with a more modern and humorous twist. The performance is directed by Matt Meyers, the artistic director of AU Players.
The piece is about an artist, a businessman and a fraternity brother who are all stuck in an airport terminal for a flight that continues to get delayed. They come to realize that they’re actually in purgatory and have to repent for their sins before they can get on their flight. A Starbucks barista provides them with guidance.
“It’s an absolute dream having my first play be performed before I graduate,” Cipriano said. “The actors are amazing and my director brought such a wonderful eye to the piece, and I can’t wait to share it with the AU community.”
The third performance is a musical called “Expressions of Love,” written by Dani Sklarz and composed by Jarrett Murray. Murray is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“The show is a modern day story that connects art, sexuality and love [as they] conquer all in the face of adversity,” Murray said.
The piece is directed by freshman Chrissy Martino, a student in the College of Arts and Sciences. She described “Expressions of Love” as the struggle to find love in addition to the struggle to keep love alive.
“We have used a lot of creative thinking to collaboratively put it together,” Martino said. “It has been great to see a brand new piece of art that a few months ago was just writing and a score turned into something and brought to life.”
The festival will take place in Katzen 151 on March 20 at 8 p.m. and on March 21 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door with cash or Eaglebucks.
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