The Mesa College Theatre Company put on their annual Student Directed One-Acts from March 8-10. Three one-act plays directed by three students. Two hours of imagination and passionate actors. This year’s plays were titled “The Goons,” “Dance Before Dark,” and “Laundry and Bourbon.” Every act was a different genre set in completely different ways of life. From a story featuring a gay hero and villain with talks about their penis size, to a very real poetry-style comparison of how humans are killing our earth. All three jump right into the scene leaving you to figure out the plot.
Remy Forbus, who played Blarney in “The Goons,” said, “As a director Miguel was very freeform. He took a lot of our input and let us really be ourselves and figure the characters out. He gave us a lot of really good direction he really wanted us to make it our own.”
“The Goons,” directed by Miguel Trevino, was more of a slapstick comedy that takes little to fully understand who the Goons are. When one goon, Blarney, accidentally kills the Riverman hero he runs out in a panic. While the other goon, Gary, tries to hatch up a plan, the lights start to flicker and the villain shows up. He questions why the hero didn’t show up to his evil lair. Blarney steps in as the hero putting on the red spandex costume. After he kills the villain the play takes a twist when they discover they want to be more than just goons. A play that is hard to take seriously at first ends in a twist that reminds you anything is possible.
“Dance Before Dark” was directed by Kaivan Ameen. This play is more dramatic and highlights the decimation of earth throughout. It begins with a blood-curdling scream which draws your attention immediately. The lighting in the play is a single spotlight illuminating the scene. It’s set in a prison cell sometime in the future.The guard, Robert, wore a black uniform with grey geometric lines, making the audience aware this is set in a more futuristic world. The prisoner, Anna, talks about all the travesty that’s happening on earth that makes it seem not too far into the future. Even though it is never told what exactly put her in prison, it is hinted that her crime was being vocal about her belief that the world will end when the last leaf falls. At one point, Robert says all Anna needs to do to go back into society is admit she was wrong. Anna speaks in poetry; she has passion behind everything she says. This play makes you feel the repercussions of humans destroying the earth. At the end of the play, as a piano fills the room and the spotlight dims, you see the cast members smile for the first time while they dance hand in hand before the room turns dark.
The final act was “Laundry and Bourbon,” directed by Michela Griffin. It shows what life is like in a slow-paced Texas town in 1977. Two childhood friends catch up and complain about the mundane of life over laundry and bourbon. It’s a wholesome act that’ll make you laugh out loud. Elizabeth was at home when her sassy friend Hattie bursts in. It’s a slow act that takes you into the life of two stay-at-home wives. Elizabeth reveals that her veteran husband, Roy, hasn’t been home in two days. Roy is described as a bad boy that gets lost in life with his pink Thunderbird convertible. Throughout the play you grow closer to Elizabeth and Hattie. Elizabeth dazes into the distance dreaming about the clouds and has hope to see the pink Thunderbird come into view. The play ends in the two best friends in a loving embrace. When the lights dim and the cast members depart from the stage you can’t help but wonder if Roy will return and if Elizabeth will get the family she yearns for.
Next for the the Mesa College Theatre Company is “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.”
