With the stage bare, scripts in hand and a requirement for imagination, “The Thanksgiving Play” by Larissa Fasthouse will be stage read on Thursday, Nov 7 at McKinley Hall at 8 p.m. The small but skilled cast won’t have any crutches to rely on, ensuring they put their all into their characters.
“The Thanksgiving Play,” portrays the tale of an amateur yet dedicated theater group attempting to create a play while struggling with a misguided sense of political correctness.
The play revolves around four characters—Logan is an undoubtedly driven middle school theater director whose ambition can be just as much a strength as it is a weakness. Jaxton is Logan’s boyfriend and a professional actor that’s yet to dawn a stage greater than a farmers’ market. Caden is an amateur playwright with glimmers of brilliance who is eager to write noteworthy scripts. Alicia is an actress hired because she’s Native American.
Together, the group of flawed yet dedicated characters must put on a performance that proves the greatness they see in themselves. While the play is a comedy, the content of the play, when it needs to, can get very serious. Senior computer science major Daniel Mercado gets to play with tone in his role as Caden.
“It is incredibly hilarious but also incredibly important at the same time,” Mercado said. “It has a way of having some completely ridiculous dialogue that’s so funny, and just like that it switches to some really serious issues that are truly very insidious and so deeply ingrained into our whitewashed society.”
Compared to a standard play, “The Thanksgiving Play” may feel more minimalist than what most are familiar with. Being a stage reading, the lines aren’t memorized, the set is bare and stage directions are read out instead of acted. While this simpler style of play may feel foreign, the format allows for a more intimate view of the characters.
Freshman liberal arts and business double major Kaelin Eckleis, who descends from a long line of SPU theater majors, is familiar with the pros and cons of such a play.
“It can sorta take from the experience when people are looking down,” Eckleis said. “But I feel like with such a short turnaround time, it also is more immersive because there’s less distractions. It’s just us standing there without props or anything.
While this stripped down approach to acting is entirely new to him, freshman Dutch Vanommen will channel his years of experience acting in Shakespeare plays to bring the audience closer to his character of Jackson.
“It’s kind of a glorified audiobook,” Vanommen said. “You’re trying to paint as much of a picture as you can with your inflection, your voice, your mood.”
Junior theater performance major Mali Mendez plays Aliza, which she describes as the “token Native American actress” who is hired by Logan and Jackson thanks to their misguided sense of political correctness. A Native American herself, Mendez has a special connection with the character.
“I think, being Native American, it’s very funny because it’s a lot of the same assumptions people make about you,” Mendez said. “Like [you’re] a mystical being that’s so wise and centered but, no, you’re really just a regular person who watches football and enjoys Thanksgiving like a regular person. I think it’s a very fun experience and just like being able to embody that and have that personal experience with it.”
