ALEX KUETER / ASST. OPINION EDITOR

Each semester USD puts on an undergraduate play. This year the spring play is “Anon(ymous)” by Naomi Iizuka. According to playscripts, “(Anon)ymous” is the story of a young refugee boy named Anon, who gets separated from his mother. The play follows the journey of Anon as he ventures through the U.S., encountering a wide variety of people — some kind, some dangerous and cruel — as he searches for his family. He journeys through fantastical situations, meets strange and exciting new people and navigates the at times perilous landscape around him in a novel interpretation of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey.’” 

Usually, in the fall, USD’s plays follow a traditional pattern, where tech students apply for jobs to be part of designing the play and actors audition to be cast in varying roles based on performance and availability. The spring plays, however, follow a different pattern. Instead of the customary audition process, the spring plays are done through two classes –  the Acting/ Stage Management section and the Design/ Tech section. The acting section is led by Lisa Berger and meets every weeknight, while the Design/Tech section is led by Robin Roberts meets twice weekly and when needed for changes. 

The change to class led performances was made last year with the performance of “Almost, Maine,” and appears to be the new pattern for spring productions. While there are usually fewer roles to be filled, everyone in the class is given a role. The goal of this new design and set up for the spring plays is to create a more collaborative environment where the students are thrust into every aspect of what it takes to make a production. From directing to picking out props, students receive lots of staff support but are able to make their own creative decisions and work with each other to create the performance. 

USD first-year Tanner Blackington acted in the fall production and now works as a prop manager in the spring and talked about his experience with this updated style of play production.

“It’s been very different doing this in a course style, rather than the open rehearsal style,” Blackington said. “[Rehearsals] have been mixed with lessons and actual practical application of those lessons which has been really fun and let me learn a lot.” 

This hands-on style of learning is much more similar to real word play design and productions and allows students to learn from the ground up. Despite this, students  receive lots of one-on-one support from faculty and staff. 

USD sophomore Casper Finnegan talked about his experience being in the Design/Tech section of the class.

“We’re all working together and talking with Robin and Lisa about their specific ideas as well,” Finnegan said. “I’m about to talk to some people in the music department about some scenes for ideas and guidance. We have a lot of fun and I think it’s good to work on big creative projects like this, it helps time management skills, it helps creativity, it helps group project skills and more.”

While a variety of students with different majors audition for the fall plays, the spring play is a more underground production. The fall plays also tend to be bigger and usually cast only theater majors, whereas the smaller spring ones branch out to others, due to the educational nature of the production. As such, the spring play is a unique opportunity for theater students and others to learn valuable skills about acting, management, people skills, organization and more.  

The plays are also chosen by a panel of students and staff who carefully consider the play’s relevance, importance and tone. They also consider what the plays mean to the students of USD and why are they important to hear.

 USD senior Josh Venegas who is cast in the show talked about how he views the story told by “(Anon)ymous.” 

“Our show is centered around Anonymous, who is a representation of refugees; it’s a very heavy story in that sense because this is something we want to shine a light on in our community especially with everything going on in the world in the past couple years,” Venegas said. 

While the play is loosely based off of “The Odyssey,” you don’t need to know the story well to follow along. Assistant Director Carly O’Rear talked about the connection between both the plays.

“The play does follow the trajectory of ‘The Odyssey’ and if you’re familiar with it you’ll be able to look at moments and be like, ‘oh haha I know what’s going on,’ but if you don’t know it you won’t be lost… It’s still the recognizable arc of a hero’s journey whether it’s ‘The Odyssey’ or not,” O’Rear said. 

The collaborative process  of the spring plays creates a truly unique and diverse production, where you see how various ideas came together. Rather than have one director telling everyone how they envision the play, students are encouraged to present their ideas and expected to contribute in new ways. The play premiers from May 2-5, and all students are highly encouraged to attend.

A behind-the-scenes shot of the cast of ‘(Anon)ymous’ during rehearsals for the play in the Blackbox Theater.
Photo courtesy of Carly O’Rear