Hot on the heels of “Wendy and Peter: Into Neverland,” comes the University of Idaho Theatre Department’s Directing II Spring Theatre Festival, formerly known as the One-Act Play Festival.
The name of the festival changed to reflect that none of the plays are one acts this year, said UI theater student Tanner Collier, who directs “Mud,” one of the plays in the festival.
“It’s going to be a unique theater festival this year, different from anything we’ve ever done in the past,” Collier said.
Directing II students will present five full-length plays every night during Dead Week, including two new, original productions. “Sleepy: A Musical,” by UI theater student Maiya Corral, will premiere 7:30 p.m. May 5, and “Golconda,” by UI distance theater MFA candidate Robert Macke will have its first stage reading during the same time. “Golconda” premiered in the 2016 Cincinnati Fringe Festival as a play.
UI theater student Justin Johnson, who directs “Mud” with Collier, said the Theatre Department held a preview of “Sleepy” last semester during the 10-Minute Play Festival.
“It was brilliant, everyone loved it, and they— the audience— wanted more,” Johnson said.
Macke said in “Golconda,” he explores how famous artists Van Gogh, Rene Magritte, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol would react to the gay community.
The play, Macke said, is inspired by Magritte’s painting by the same name, which depicts men in bowler hats suspended in mid-air.
“I’ve really been tantalized by Rene Magritte’s treachery of images, that’s one of the themes that he plays along with, you know, how images can seduce you and make you assume things,” he said.
He said he saw a connection between that idea and apps like Grindr, where men can pretend to be something they are not.
The other plays in the upcoming festival include “Mud,” by Maria Irene Fornes, “Mad Forest,” by Caryl Churchill and “The Woman Who Was A Red Deer Dressed For The Deer Dance” by Diane Glancy.
Collier said the guidelines for choosing a play included settling on something relevant and something not often produced — to “work with the voices of the unheard.”
“Early in the semester we worked with students to select plays that would not only line up with what they were trying to learn in their Directing II class, but represent voices that were not always heard, or that we’re not able to produce during our main stage season,” said Professor Matt Foss, who teaches the class.
Johnson said he thinks the festival gives viewers a broader perspective of the theatre department at UI.
“It really showcases what the (department), I think, is about, (and) stands behind, which is the students really take charge of these productions,” he said.
Nina Rydalch can be reached at [email protected]u or on Twitter @NinaRobin7