Theatre Club Explores the Fantastical and the Absurd in One-Act Plays
In lifting the curtain on life on stage, performance artist Natasha Tsakos put it this way: 鈥淭heater is a voyage into the archives of the human imagination.鈥�
In April, the 海角社区 Theatre Club thumbed through the archives to explore science-fiction and satire in a series of one-act plays that collectively formed its presentation, 鈥淧ast, Present, Future: A Collection of One-Acts.鈥�
海角社区 students Zachary Murray and Cole Mathews wrote the works. Murray penned the one-act piece, “Collapse of the Red Moon,” which chronicles the plight of a crew of ex-cons that is tasked with preventing a runaway moon from crashing into Earth. Mathews wrote three as-badly-seen-on-TV commercial spoofs: 鈥淭he Always Cold Scarf,鈥� 鈥淭he Walk-In Microwave,鈥� and 鈥淭he Always Wet Towel.鈥�
鈥淧ast, Present, Future: A Collection of One-Acts鈥� follows up last year鈥檚 production, 鈥淟egend of the Phoenix,鈥� which Murray also wrote.
Both shows are the fruit of Calinda Strayhorn鈥檚 passion for plays. As singer/children鈥檚 author Benny Bellamacina once said, 鈥淲hen you feel like you鈥檝e only got a bit part in your own life, write the script yourself.鈥�
In a way, Strayhorn 鈥� the driving force behind the launch of the Theatre Club 鈥� has done just that. Her drama queen energy opened the door for others to showcase their playwriting and acting skills.
For her part, Strayhorn snagged a role in this year鈥檚 production 鈥� and welcomed her personal fan club. The Hometown Civitan Club gathers women in Lake, Marion, and Sumter counties dedicated to giving back to their community through annual grants to select charities, board service, sponsorships, and volunteerism. Last year, the club donated money to support 海角社区 students. Strayhorn was a recipient. Club members met Strayhorn in March at 海角社区鈥檚 scholarship luncheon, chitchatted about Strayhorn鈥檚 interests, and were smitten. When Strayhorn mentioned the upcoming performance, they were keen to support their new Generation Z friend.
And when the curtain fell last month, the verdict was in: The play 鈥渨as just a great experience for our Hometown Civitan Club,鈥� said Laura McLaughlin, one of the club members who attended the show in support of Strayhorn. 鈥淭he storyline was creative, and I had so many positive responses.鈥�