Theater putting a face to modern issues
By Caileena Lind
Theater Underground and the theater department at Metropolitan State University have started an ambitious project that requires the participation of Metropolitan State students, faculty and active alums to succeed.
The project is called Theater Du Jour and its goal is to put a human face on the issues of today. Theater Du Jour is an expansive project collecting many different and personal stories from the Metropolitan State community and putting them on stage.
Gail Smogard, director of the theater program at Metropolitan State, explains why this project is so important and unique to the university, “Unlike many traditional state universities, Metropolitan State is generally a more mature community of students with broad and diverse life experiences. Many of our students know firsthand what it is to fear genocide, care for aging parents, struggle with job loss, redefine themselves mid-career and generally overcome challenges in extraordinary ways in a society where their voices do not predominate. Having heard many stories already over the years, it is humbling to know of the challenges that many have had to overcome to even get here. These stories have made me reconsider how our political and social systems do ‘business as usual.’”
Smogard continued to press the point of the importance of this project by explaining how Metropolitan State is different from other universities, “This same community is busy making a living and/or having a home life. They are transient—generally only talk to each other in class—and this makes a lively campus culture difficult to sustain. Theater is, of necessity, social and personal—not just in rehearsal, but in performance as well—with an audience. I’d like them to hear each other’s stories.”
Theater Du Jour is an effort to pull all these stories from students and put a face on everyday issues. They are currently looking for dialogues, monologues, stories and interviews around issues of concern to Metropolitan State students and faculty—personally and directly.
They are interested in local, regional, national and international issues. They are looking for pieces under 15 minutes, a maximum of 15 pages for dialogues or four pages for monologues and stories. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 30.
Because Theater Du Jour’s goal is to include students’ stories from every facet of Metropolitan State, there is an option available to students to meet with a playwright and tell them their story for them to put into words. If you have a story to share and want to make an interview appointment, contact Gail Smogard at gail.smogard@metrostate.edu.
Theater Du Jour is scheduled to be performed on April 16, 2010 in St. Paul. Afterward “Whine & Dine” will be held at the Educated Palate, where pieces that did not make it into the production will be performed.
If your piece is accepted, submissions will be workshopped until ready for production. Writers interested in submitting material should include their name, E-mail address and telephone number on a title page. Send submissions to:
MSC F-1304
Theater Program
Metropolitan State University
1501 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis MN 55403-1897