The Black Box filled with students anticipating the first Gonzo theater of the year Inside the University Commons, past Common Grounds and the Art Gallery last Thursday.

Gonzo Theater, known as Gonzo, is a student run theater group where students can write, direct, and act in short skits.

Because Gonzo is student run, student authors can create a somewhat uncensored outlet for students to address all topics, from sex, sexuality, identity, violence, drugs, etc. Gonzo host, Senior Elisha Keener, begins every Gonzo with a different co-host. This time, Sophomore Sierra Comer held up the trigger sign warning people of the sometimes explicit content to follow.

“We ask the audience to shut their eyes as the co-host performs a little musical number, and in this way we’ve created a fun little tradition while still providing students who feel uncomfortable the chance to leave unnoticed,” said Keener.

Gonzo also follows a tradition of candy breaks and door prize competitions. Past door prizes have included pumpkins, Gonzo inspired pieces, and various other themed items.

Competitions have included threelegged scavenger hunts and toilet paper mummy wrapping contests.

“Sometimes they don’t quite go exactly as planned, but everyone has a good time and our Smart Shopper provided door prizes are usually a big hit,” said Keener.

The inspiration for the month’s Gonzo is posted the Monday before the first Thursday of the each month. The writers are then given until midnight the night before the performance to email their scripts to Keener.

Keener then chooses scripts that fit the inspiration and distributes them to those who have expressed interest in directing, usually through Gonzo Theatre’s Facebook page.

Directors then have the rest of that day to gather actors and coordinate rehearsal.

“I love getting new people involved in Gonzo. There’s nothing like seeing fellow students challenge themselves and grow artistically through the opportunity this event has provided them,” said Keener.

The inspiration normally involves a visual as well as a short written prompt and can be found in the first floor lobby of the Campus Center.

The prompt for this first Gonzo was a painting of Groot from “Guardians of the Galaxy” with the following quote from “The Lord of the Rings” character, Treebeard:

“We might do some things together. I don’t know about sides. I go my own way; but your way may go along with mine for a while.”

“Whenever the Gonzo inspiration is first put up, I run over to the Campus Center and make sure that I see it and take pictures so that I can start thinking about any inspirations,” said Sophomore Jeremiah Hines.

Gonzo started out with a few short pieces that seemed to pair nicely together, the first two exploring the emotional turns of relationships and the experiences of grief.

In true Gonzo fashion, the skits then turned lighter and humorous to keep the mood from becoming too heavy too fast.

Favorites of the humorous side included a skit where a suggestive space pirate steals a talking plant that holds the future of a dying planet, wherein Hines played the hip-swaying bandit, and a skit of three word pick-up lines, where, of course, Groot swept all the ladies off their feet.

In the end, Gonzo pulled out a few more tear jerkers, the most heart shattering of these being about an old married couple. The husband suffers from Alzheimers, failing to recognize his wife, but speaks of her as a young woman who stole his heart away. The author signed simply, “A Grandchild.”

Gonzo remains, as ever, a place where students can express and hash out their thoughts and feelings, as well as a place where students can come to glean new ideas, support their friends, and relax after a long month of classes and work.

The next Gonzo is scheduled for Oct. 9.

– Hailey Halcomb, Sports Editor

Directed by , assistant professor of at 91����Ƶ, Into the Woods will be performed in the Main Stage Theater at 7:30 p.m. on April 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12, plus a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, April 6. The show will run approximately three hours with intermission.

Information regarding age-appropriateness for 91����Ƶ events is available through the  at 540-432-4360 or theater@emu.edu.

Into the Woods weaves together the main characters from fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Cinderella and others. The story revolves around a childless baker and his wife on a quest to begin a family, and their interaction with a witch who has placed a curse on them. In a departure from the standard plot line, the musical explores the consequences of these characters’ wishes.

“Into the Woods is a sprawling story filled to the brim with complex characters and dark magic,” said Poole. “The story provides ample opportunities to push the limits of our imaginations as we explore innovative ways to stage complex theatrical moments. I want audiences to leave the theater feeling that they have had a visceral, engaging experience that transcends what they have felt while watching a film or other mediated form of entertainment.”

Reserved tickets are $15 for adults ($17 at the door) and $12 for seniors, non-91����Ƶ students and 91����Ƶ faculty/staff ($14 at the door) and $6 for 91����Ƶ students. Tickets are available through 91����Ƶ’s box office: 540-432-4582, . Group rates are available.

Cast:

Rachelle Kratz, stage manager

Dylan Bomgardner, assistant stage manager

Sierra Comer, assistant stage manager

Hailey Holcomb, assistant stage manager

Hattie Berg, assistant director

Chris Parks, dramaturg

Bethany Chupp (sophomore)

Shannon Dove

Heather Evans (junior)

Andrew French

Dorothy Hershey (first-year)

Jeremiah Hines (first-year)

Caitlin Holsapple (sophomore)

Heidi Jablonski (senior)

Holly Jensen (junior)

Elisha Keener (junior)

Eric King (senior)

Jaclyn Kratz (sophomore)

Katie Miller (senior)

Ezrionna Prioleau (first-year)

Emily Shenk (junior)

Sarah Sutter (first-year)

Sam Swartzendruber (sophomore)

Isaac Tice (senior)

Robert Weaver (first-year)

Phil Yoder (junior)

Rebekah York (sophomore)

“Antigone struggles with questions about humankind’s relationship to God, but in Antigone’s case, the focus is the whole ‘render unto Caesar’ discussion about where we place our greatest trust and allegiance, between the state and the Creator,” said Tom Joyner, director and assistant professor of theater.

“Near the end of the play, there’s a reference to other ‘Antigones’ over the millennia – women who have stood up against the state and rigid authority on behalf of higher principles. I trust an 91����Ƶ audience will draw connections between Antigone’s journey and those of Aung San Suu Kyi and Leymah Gbowee.”

Leah Ott, who plays the character Antigone, says she appreciates how her character matures through the play.

“What I find unique about this play is Antigone is most likely still a teenager,” said Ott. “She is learning what love is like and she is becoming a woman in a world of men. She stands up for what she believes is truth, and boldly faces death to defend what is right.”

91����Ƶ the play

The play takes place following the battle for Thèbes in which Antigone’s two brothers have killed each other vying for the throne. The king has proclaimed that the younger brother, Polynices, must be left unburied while Antigone’s elder brother Etéocles should be given full burial rights. Antigone chooses to defy the king, Créon, by burying Polynices – with her bare hands – and is brought before Créon for judgment. The king attempts to excuse the offense, perhaps because Antigone is engaged to his son, but Antigone refuses to accept his pardon.

What ensues is a passionate dialogue concerning the nature of power, morality, fate and free will. Antigone’s actions eventually force the king’s hand, and the kingdom is rocked by yet more royal deaths.

Antigone is a modern adaption by Jean Anouilh of the original tragedy written by Sophocles, translated by Louis Gallantiere.

The adaption by Anouilh was first performed in Paris during the Nazi occupation with several parallels to the French Resistance and the war in France.

Tickets, more information

Reserved tickets are $10 for adults ($12 at the door) and $8 for seniors and non-91����Ƶ students ($10 at the door).

Tickets are available through 91����Ƶ’s box office at 540-432-4582 or emu.edu/boxoffice. Group rates are available.

Information regarding age-appropriateness for 91����Ƶ events is available through the theater office at 540-432-4360 or theater@emu.edu.

Cast and supporting members

Shannon Dove, staff member

Elisha Keener, a first-year student from Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal High School

Coryn LaVeist, a first-year student from Norfolk, Va./Kings Fork High School

Jenna Longenecker, a junior from Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley High School

Tulia MacDicken, a first-year student from Centreville, Va./Westfield High School

Erica Maholmes, a first-year student from Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby High School

Leah Ott, a senior from Harpers Ferry, WVa./Jefferson High School

Kayla Sasser, a senior from Maurertown, Va./Strasburg High School

Holly Solomon, a sophomore from Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock High School

Ariel Vogel, a first-year student at Harrisonburg High School, Harrisonburg, Va.

Phil Yoder, a first-year student from Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite High School