麻豆原创 School of Performing Arts presents Human Error, a new play that runs June 14-24 and Aug. 23-26 on the 麻豆原创 Main Stage. The production is part of Pegasus PlayLab, a summer theatre festival dedicated to developing plays by emerging playwrights. Human Error gives students and faculty the opportunity to create a fully mounted production of a new work that explores the political and social divide in our society in a human and humorous way.
鈥淚t鈥檚 refreshing to work on a contemporary piece because the script reflects conversations people are having in daily life. The reactions you see on stage are done in a truthful way that finds the comedic and human side of the characters,鈥� says Matthew Buckalew, an acting student who plays the role of Jim in the production. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 necessary to let new works come alive and see how the audience interacts with them.鈥�
For most students at 麻豆原创, Pegasus PlayLab is their first encounter working on a new play. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have any experience working on contemporary plays, so I think that鈥檚 one of the amazing things our artistic director, Julia Listengarten, has done is bring these new plays to the forefront for 麻豆原创 to examine and to produce. It鈥檚 a unique experience you won鈥檛 find in other university theatre programs,鈥� says Ramon Paradoa, assistant director of Human Error working on his master鈥檚 in theatre. 鈥淲hen working on a new piece, you鈥檙e going in with a blank slate and don鈥檛 have any expectations in regards to what you鈥檙e going to see. What you see the actors bring to life is something you didn鈥檛 expect and is something you get to watch unfold before your eyes.鈥�
For Be Boyd, director of Human Error, working on new plays is about valuing the next generation of emerging playwrights. 鈥淲e have the opportunity to be the voice of the new generation. We need to foster new playwrights and tell their stories in unique ways,鈥� Boyd says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 recognizing that those famous playwrights got their start in a very similar way to what we are doing and we are honoring that process. This is the generation that has to lay the groundwork for new classics.鈥�
Boyd says the greatest thing students get from working on a new piece like Human Error is the fluid workshopping process.
鈥淭hey have to stay on their toes,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey know that at any moment, the script could change. They have to be flexible, they have to have a collaborative spirit and they have to respect the text because something could be snatched from them and rewritten at any moment.鈥�
Those who are new to theatre may not understand how a play comes to life, and Boyd hopes that audiences attending Human Error and other Pegasus PlayLab events will better understand the role of the playwright in this process 鈥� from the initial spark of an idea to opening night.
Human Error by Eric Pfeffinger聽
After an unfortunate mix-up by their blundering fertility doctor, a couple is mistakenly impregnated with the wrong child. Now two very different couples face sharing an uproarious nine-month odyssey of culture shock, clashing values, changing attitudes and unlikely 鈥� but heartfelt 鈥� friendships.
Directed by Be Boyd
Join the cast and crew for a post-show reception following today鈥檚 7:30 p.m. opening-night performance. The rest of the schedule is:
Tickets $20, $10 with 麻豆原创 ID