For the last six months the cast and crew of University of Idaho’s play, “This Random World,” have worked together to put on the best performance that they could.
“This Random World” was originally performed in October of 2019 and was directed by UI Professor of Performance David Lee-Painter and UI alumnus Daniel L. Haley. The cast and crew were selected to perform at the Region VII of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Film Festival Feb. 17 through 21 in Fort Collins, Colorado.
This festival included students and faculty from nine states including Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Colorado and the northern parts of California and Nevada. There were three performances selected to be showcased at the festival.
Those performances were put on by Western Washington University, Mendocino College and the University of Idaho.
Lee-Painter said that UI’s cast and crew were originally supposed to perform on Feb. 19., but the cast and crew of Western Washington University (WWU) needed to switch days with them. WWU’s director of the play said that the rental truck containing their set and costumes broke down five hours away from the festival. Meaning they would not make it in time for their slot on Feb. 18.
Lee-Painter said if they didn’t switch slots, the cast and crew of WWU’s play might not have been able to perform at all. After consulting with their team, UI’s cast and crew decided they would switch performance days with them.
Lee-Painter said this was the best performance they’ve put on of “This Random World.”
“We were gifted the opportunity to work on this play for six months,” Lee-Painter said. “And every time we came back to it the actors work grew exponentially. They inhabited the roles even more fully than before.”
The “This Random World” cast and crew held a one night only benefit showing of the play at the end of January to help raise funds they needed to get to the festival. Lee-Painter said he was grateful for the support from the benefit performance, as well as the financial and emotional support from UI’s Dean of College of Letters Arts and Social Sciences Sean Quinlan.
Collectively the cast and crew got a lot out of their experience and were proud of not only their work, but the work of other colleges at the festival.
“I think I heard a few times how proud they were of their work, and overall support of everyone at the festival putting their work out there to be seen by so many,” Lee-Painter said. “I know I remain so proud of our students. They universally celebrated the work of everyone. (There was) so much generosity and kindness, it was a great week to be a Vandal.”
The UI cast and crew ended up performing twice at the festival. The cast and crew were involved with many other aspects of the festival, but Lee-Painter said the performances were their highlights of the week they spent in Fort Collins.
“It is one of the peak theater experiences of my life and career, no question,” Lee-Painter said. “I will savor this experience and these people for the rest of my life. (They are) exceptional human beings.”
Nicole Hindberg can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @HindbergNicole.