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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Drama Labs Relevant and Versatile

Amid the faculty theatre productions, senior theses and assorted shows that are put on each semester, the Drama Labs continue to stand as a unique tradition here at Middlebury. A series of independent student-produced plays, the Drama Labs, have offered a venue for experimentation, variety and student-initiated creativity for years.

Friday’s production was no different. Produced by Daniel Buchman ’18.5 and Sisi Liu ’18 and featuring a wide array of student writers, actors, directors and others working at all levels of production, the evening’s hour-long show demonstrated a remarkable versatility and inventiveness.

Contrary to most other theatre productions, all scripts are student-written. In addition to offering a unique creative opportunity to aspiring student playwrights, this allows productions to tackle a number of issues that are contemporary and particularly relevant to the lives of young people. One such script this year explored the Black Lives Matter movement and issues of justice and race.
According to co-producer Sisi Liu,“[Drama labs] are a great way to bring in what is a hot topic in today’s society and what’s interesting to today’s students. That’s a pretty big difference between drama labs and other plays.”

Featured scripts ranged widely in tone, staging and scenarios. Among the highlights were an uneasy movie night born of blackmail, a droll conversation between Jesus and a Big Pharma executive and an act of vengeance spurred on by family drama and class warfare. Some productions made use of highly minimalist staging and a limited number of actors, choosing to focus in on a few core thematic conflicts. Others featured more complicated scenarios and sets, exploring a greater number of dramatic possibilities. Even within such a small subset of micro-productions, there was huge variety in terms of style, content and approach.

“I wouldn’t say this show has any theme whatsoever,” co-producer Buchman stated. “These scripts go all over the place. Some are amusing, while others are more serious.”

Drama labs are notable for featuring students who may otherwise be unable to participate in on-campus theatre. While faculty productions can be intimidating both in the time commitment and level of experience required, drama labs offer a relaxed atmosphere in which participants can develop a number of skills related to theatre production.

“I really think drama labs are an encouragement for people to try out theatre,” Liu said. “It’s really easy to just get in and experience a bit of what different roles are like.”

“[Drama labs] are a good way to get people involved that wouldn’t otherwise,” Buchman added. “So you’re going to see a lot more faces than you would normally in a theatre production ... I think we did a really good job of getting a diverse cast and crew, a big variety of people.”

While the fruits of such a singular and creative endeavor were surely on display Friday night, much of the value of drama labs is in the behind-the-scenes process. With each production acting as a small, independent group, each member is almost equally responsible for the success of their production. Such small groups also enable a greater level of collaboration and a less restricted creative process than perhaps a larger production would.

“If you’re trying out as an actor or stage manager or director, it’s very easy to form a tight-knit circle with the other people you’re working with,” Liu said. “Because it’s student-written, we can all sit down together to talk with the writer about what a line means or what the character is thinking at a certain time. The opinions of others can give added insight.”

Through this process, students are empowered with a greater understanding of theatre production at nearly all levels. Those once intimidated by the theater world may leave drama labs with a more robust skill set that can enable them to more comfortably approach future creative endeavors.

At the end of the day, the greatest benefit of the drama labs may be in simply harnessing the immense talent and energy that is present at Middlebury and in telling student-driven stories. In this way, drama labs can be a reflection of our community at large, in its myriad forms.

“[Drama labs] are open to everyone,” Buchman said. “I think we do a good job of getting a more representative ensemble in terms of who is a part of this community.”


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