MTSU Playwrights Perform at CLA Scholars Day
The students of ENGL 3665 are remarkably talented.
MTSU’s College of Liberal Arts Scholars Day was held recently in Peck Hall, and one of the highlights was the staged reading of original student plays.
The staged reading featured nine ten-minute plays written and performed by the students in Professor Claudia Barnett’s English 3665: Playwriting class. The theme for the plays was, “They’d never do that, would they?: Scenes from plays about characters who change their minds, big time.”
Caleb Peluso-Harper’s play was about two young restaurant employees who plot a small act of vengeance against a mean classmate. Alex Queen’s play focused on a cat-and-mouse relationship between a playful criminal and the uptight detective on her trail, reminiscent of something from the best of writer Elmore Leonard.
Nicholas Perrone’s play centered on how a deck of cards formed a strong link in the relationship between two people. Kharley Layton’s play featured a character who had the ability to read minds but was trying to break free of the strictures imposed on her by society.
Kathryn Pendergrass served up some submarine romantic melodrama in her piece, and Erin Pitcher’s The God Doctor showcased the anguish of a doctor presented with a dying patient’s morally murky request.
Jo Bracey’s play comprised two sisters debating a weighty decision, and Jessica Pruitt’s When It’s Time beautifully explored the ambivalence of a dying young woman presented with the opportunity, via a benevolent otherworldly messenger, to see a loved one who had long since departed. Pruitt’s play had echoes of films like It’s a Wonderful Life and Meet Joe Black.
Finally, Joseph Hyrka’s Widdershins implicitly asked questions about work, meaning, mortality, technology, obsolescence, fear, connection, and the lies we tell ourselves in order to survive, through an examination of an aging curmudgeon besieged by cold reality.
Dr. Barnett was proud of her students’ efforts. “This is the first time my entire class participated in Scholars Day, and it was amazing to see them collaborate and support one another,” Barnett said. “Not only are they all talented writers, but they’re also good actors.”
Barnett also noted that showcasing students’ work in the middle of the academic term gave them the opportunity to get some ideas to use for future creative writing projects. “Having these performances mid-semester instead of at the end is also great because it gives everyone time to incorporate the lessons learned into their next two assignments. Plus the students became closer through the experience,” Barnett said.
Student writer Pruitt was enthused by the staged reading event. “The emotive quality of the actors as they delivered the lines proved to be a tremendous experience,” Pruitt said. “Watching the words coming to life brings so much. It feels like a doorway is open to the possibility for more of these types of things.”
Pruitt also had plaudits for her course instructor. “I have always wanted to develop playwriting skills, and this class has taught me so much. Dr. Barnett is a gifted teacher who is great at helping students hone their skills.”
Perrone, author of A Deck of Cards, likewise had positive things to say about the class. “My favorite part of the class would have to be the workshops,” Perrone said. “Playwriting is a creative discourse, but I enjoy hearing questions from others that I have not thought of and are relevant to my play. Hearing these questions helped me to envision the world of my play even further.”
Perrone had ample experience as an actor before English 3665, but the process of creating plays as a writer gave him a new perspective. “Playwriting is fun and allows you to envision the world from different characters’ points of view,” he said. “It also enables you to create new worlds that don’t even exist. There is endless creative freedom when it comes to writing plays, which is the best part about it.”
In terms of the staged reading event at Scholars Day, Perrone was gratified to witness it and be a part of it. “Plays are meant to be read aloud, so hearing my play was a different experience from simply reading it. By hearing it, I listened to the tension between Meemaw and Connor and their unconditional love for each other, which is how I wanted the characters to be portrayed.”
Barnett enjoyed seeing the teamwork employed by her students to make the event a success, and she was thrilled to see their sense of joy at the end of the event. “They did their best because they were depending on each other, and it really paid off,” Barnett said. “It was particularly lovely to see them all hold up their Scholars Day certificates and smile as a group.”
Luke Cameron is a contributing writer for MTSU Sidelines.
