Cruise couch-jumping incident offers inspiration for writer

When Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah Winfrey's couch professing his love for Katie Holmes in May 2005, the nation deemed him insane. However, playwright and IU graduate student Paul Shoulberg used Cruise's antics to perfect the finishing touches of his play, "Reel." The IU Department of Theatre and Drama will open the world premiere of "Reel" at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Wells-Metz Theatre.\nAfter working on the set of an independent film as an undergraduate at the University of Kansas, Shoulberg knew he wanted to tell a story on stage about what happens off camera. \n"Watching Tom Cruise on Oprah, (I realized) these people are absolutely crazy. They're psychopaths," Shoulberg said of celebrities. "These people are really disturbed."\n"Reel" is a heavy comedy that takes place on a film set in Los Angeles where the cast and crew are stuck on one important scene -- a love scene. They cannot seem to get it right, which stems from the problem that the actors are still trying to find out what love actually is. \n"('Reel') shows how the Hollywood environment destroys relationships and skews reality," said junior Melanie Derleth, whose character Wynne is the only one not completely jaded by the "cutthroat, nasty environment" of the film industry.\nThe IU Department of Theatre and Drama commits to fully producing one play for each of its playwright graduate students during their time here. Shoulberg is one of two graduate playwright students this year and spent more than a year -- on and off -- writing this play. Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Theatre and Drama Jonathan Michaelsen directed "Reel" and had the opportunity to work closely with Shoulberg to fully master the writer's vision. \n"Paul has a very distinct writing style that's quite interesting. His use of language and rhythm are intriguing," Michaelsen said.\nShoulberg said the plays he writes deal with emotions before dealing with the intellectual stuff. He tries to avoid the heaviness that can occasionally bog the audience down. Instead, he tries to create something more emotionally and intellectually appealing, he said. \nDerleth said at first it was daunting to have Shoulberg there as they began creating characters that have never been acted before, but she is now grateful for the opportunity she has had to work with the playwright because it is a relatively rare experience. She enjoys observing him as they develop the play, as the play that has been in his mind for years becomes a reality, Derleth said. \n"('Reel') is his baby. It's his baby coming to life," she said. "It's scary but thrilling at the same time."\nThe cast also includes graduate students Allison Moody and Matthew Buffalo and undergraduates Malia Tilden, Michael Aguirre and Ross Matsuda. "Reel" will show at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Wells-Metz Theatre with additional performances Dec. 4 through 9. Tickets are $13 to $16 and can be purchased at the IU Auditorium Box Office or through Ticketmaster and Ticketmaster.com. Student rush tickets for $10 are available the day of each show with a valid IU student ID. Visit www.indiana.edu/~thtr for more information.