Cast members rehearse in the Barton Fine Arts Auditorium.
November 09, 2016
Story and photos by Micah Oelze
Each year, as part of the Theatre Program at Barton, students are asked to take the reins and produce a show entirely by themselves. Theatre Majors Kolton Landreth, Lacey Hobbs and Jose Flores co-wrote this year’s student production, “Finals Week Massacre: A Slapstick Murder Mystery” with showings at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 and 15 in the Barton Fine Arts Auditorium.
“It’s like breakfast club meets Carrie meets murder mystery realness,” Landreth said.
The co-writers are also heavily involved in production. Landreth is the Production Manager and Flores is the technical director. While Hobbs is the director, each of the three students directed a piece of the show.
“All of us have directed at one point in this show,” Landreth said. “With that I have learned new ways to approach directing to get the job done more effectively.”
Hobbs said she learned what it meant to step out of her acting shoes and see the other side of the theatre business.
“I have always been the actress or the backstage person and so to take on the role of the Director is completely different,” Hobbs said. “Working with the business side and the playwriting side, this class has really taught us everything we are not used to.”
As a co-writer of the play and technical director, Flores learned about collaboration between the cast and crew.
“I learned that some of the actors have way better ideas than what we had. Having them contribute their ideas and mixing it with our ideas, it is a hell of a lot better than what we started with,” Flores said.
Zachary Dougherty, who plays the class president, also commented on this collaboration.
“Our directors have graciously told us, ‘you shoot us ideas and if we don’t like them will shoot them down,” he said. “If you think it’s good, do it and if we don’t like it, we will take it out.’”
“This has taught me to do my own sort of blocking, doing what it feels like I should be doing rather than it being told to me what I am supposed to do,” said Maliea Clark, who plays a cheerleader.
The show is free but free will donations are encouraged and will either help theatre students in attending the Thespian Festival in Wichita or a nonprofit.