GCSU students perform visiting playwright’s work

Max Noah Hall played host to a play entitled “Books on Tape” by visiting writer William “Bill” Missouri Downs Sept. 28. Downs is a professor at the University of Wyoming and has written in Hollywood for television shows such as “My Two Dads” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Downs left Hollywood in 1991, finding the city ill-suited to his personality.

“Many people thrive on Hollywood, I didn’t. I’m too emotional for Hollywood,” Downs said jokingly.

Hilary Thompson | gcsunade.com

Graduate student Tori Lee Averett (left) and sophomore creative writing major Robert Hudgens (right) read lines from William “Bill” Nissouri Downs play “Books on Tape.” The play was performed in Max Noah Sept. 28.

Just as Downs is different from most Hollywood writers, his play Books on Tape proved different from most plays. Students, locals, and English professor David Muschell read directly from scripts on a stage bedecked with only stools and music stands. The lack of props and the minimal gestures of the actors allowed the audience to focus on Downs’ words.

“Books on Tape” is about four people, all very different, but each one connected to all the others in some way. Adrienne, played by grad student Emily Chamison, lives vicariously through audio books and commonly tells people a life story that is not her own. Jeffrey, played by sophomore creative writing major Robert Hudgens, does voice-overs for James Michener audio books and has a habit of picking up women, including Adrienne, at Barnes and Noble.

Hudgens was able to focus on “the middle,” reading from a script and acting in a not overly-rehearsed way, and all in all having fun.

“It was a whole lot of fun, it was a great experience. If I was asked to do anything like this again I totally would,” Hudgens said.

Donna Paige Miller, played by grad student Tori Lee Averett, is a writer of self-help books, and the second woman Jeffrey picks up at Barnes and Noble. Blackbird Coffee proprietor Jimmy Holder, plays Larry, who is working toward a doctorate, and currently gathering data for a dissertation on the lack of skepticism in today’s society. The four characters engage in constant banter and together find that the ending of one’s life does not matter, and that the middle is most important.

Holder’s character asserts that people focus too much on the beginning and end of their person stories, they strive too hard to find the meaning in all things and let life pass them by in the process.

“I’m sick of people living other people’s lives,” Downs said after the play, “If you don’t focus on the beginning and end, life becomes so much fun.”

Though the play is clearly comical, the subject matter had a great impact on many in the audience, such as junior business major Hannah Schumacher.

“I really enjoyed him and what he had to say,” Schumacher said. “He communicated very well with his insight on how instead of setting goals we should do what we enjoy, live life in the present and let the future happen.”

Posted by Hilary Thompson on Oct 1 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.