Sarah Croitoru, junior at Keene State College, is a Women and Gender Studies major, Social Science major and Sociology major who signed up for Honors Playwriting, not knowing what the course was truly about.
This year, she was involved in the Keene State Theatre and Dance production “The Premiere Series,” a month-long period of several plays that were produced by students.
“There were a lot of late nights and lots of editing,” the triple major said, “It was challenging, new, and exciting.”
Croitoru has attended all of the rehearsals while giving herself feedback on the script along with the acting.
However, Croitoru said she did not have to prepare as much as the actors.
Croitoru said she prepared by giving constant and supportive feedback to the cast so they could develop her story the way she envisioned it. Croitoru said her main inspiration for her piece, “The Speck In My Eye,” was from some aspects of her life.
“There are a lot of things right off the bat that aren’t true about my story but it has a lot of elements that are true,” she said.
She also said she had completed her first draft about eight weeks into the Fall 2012 semester and has since continued re-writing. The student explained that she began prepping for her piece during the audition process early this school year. “The title,” Croitoru said, “it’s a Bible verse.”
Throughout her play, verses were entered to emphasize commitment to God and coinciding beliefs.
One of those verses inserted throughout the show was the verse holding the title of the play, “The Speck In My Eye.”
“The best part of this whole experience was seeing it come to life,” Croitoru said. She said she liked that the actors respected the playwright and the comments she made to make the finished product truly as her vision. “Now I sit back and watch,” she said.
“I’m seeing it for the class, intro. to acting with Ms. Dupuis [of the Theatre and Dance Department],” Bill White, senior at KSC, stated. “I expect to see what students writing is like,” he added, “especially at universities, it should be students and that is what brings that out.”
Daniel Patterson is a professor at KSC and teaches acting, directing and play writing. Patterson said the goal of his Honors Playwriting course is to have students write a play. This class was where Croitoru began her show.
Patterson said he works with students to put their inspiration into a rough draft.
“She [Croitoru] did about five drafts by the end of the class,” Patterson said, “even though I only required two.”
He also said Croitoru’s language in the first draft was very much how she spoke, which was very formal.
In regards to the draft now, on the other hand, “The actors helped make it less stiff,” he said.
Patterson mentioned that the strong theme of the show makes it hard to stray away from the stiff beliefs that lie within it.
Patterson cast himself as the roll of the girlfriend’s father because during the audition process, he found there was a shortage of students who could play men between the ages 40 and up. He described the characters as, “new age with an open lifestyle.”
“I like to lead by example,” Patterson said. He said he has been a professional actor for years and he uses his experience to teach his students the art of play writing.
Catherine Behrens is a resident in Keene and was in attendance at the show. “I know Kim [Dupuis] and Dan. I’ve worked with both in the past,” she said. She added she came to show them support.
“I expect the show not to be perfect,” she added, “but interesting.” Behrens said she believes it is a good idea that the show is a student produced show because, “it gives the students an incentive to produce their own work and creativity.”
Katherine Wadleigh, a senior at KSC, is involved in two of the other shows within the series and said she attended Croitoru’s show to give her support and that she is also involved in a lot of theatre on campus.
“I expect the show to be empowering and encouraging,” Wadleigh said, “It’s such a strong message.” Wadleigh mentioned her interest in the idea of the show being a student production; written, produced and acted by students.
“I don’t believe we do it enough and I think that it’s our own fault,” she added, “it’s wonderful and we need more of it.”
Kim Dupuis said she has been acting since she was a child and teaches acting and a little directing here at KSC. Patterson first introduced the show to Dupuis over the summer but said that no definite roles were determined.
Patterson explained that he was interested in involving staff members and students in the productions. Dupuis first saw Croitoru’s script at auditions in the beginning of the Fall 2013 semester, when the script had not yet been completed.
After auditions, Dupuis was given the role of the mother in the show, “The Speck In My Eye.”
When asked of her prepping techniques, Dupuis said that the key is to study the lines and understand the character.
“You need to know the driving forces behind your character,” she said, “what your character does and what they say.”
Her character first entered the stage “not shaken, but hopeful and optimistic,” Dupuis explained. It wasn’t until later in the show when a seemingly harsh reaction brought out the mother’s true beliefs and religion. “Each production has different challenges and easy things,” Dupuis explained, “every role has something.”
“I don’t think it met all my expectations but it still provided a message, which is what it’s for,” Wadleigh said. “For a first attempt it was pretty good.”
She added that the plot, the set-up and the student involvement were elements that she enjoyed about the production.
“I believe the relationships could be stronger and the language be more natural,” she added. “Some aspects need to be more drawn or fleshed out.”
“I didn’t come to the show with any expectations,” White said. “I liked that it was up front.” He emphasized how he liked the student involvement within the show.
He seemed to agree with Wadleigh in the sense that the lines could be more solid. Both said they believed the play was a good length and a great start.
The series began with “Thanksgiving,” by Taylor Jorgensen on October 3 and 4 and continued through the following week with Croitoru’s play.
The rest of the Theatre and Dance Premiere Series will include, “Love, Life and Liberty” by Hersch Rothmel on Wednesday and Thursday, October 16 and 17.
The following week, “Bigfoot” by Daniel Bullard will end the series, premiering on October 23 and 24. Both “Love, Life and Liberty” and “Bigfoot” will be performed in the Wright Theatre of the Redfern Arts Center on the KSC campus at 7:30 p.m.
Haley Erdbrink can be contacted at herdbrink@keene-equinox.com