Students run alternative theater

Despite the rainy weather Friday outside the Theatre Annex, the University Players, IU’s student-run theater organization, were too busy to feel gloomy.

The group was rehearsing for its upcoming production of playwright and poet Caridad Svich’s “Twelve Ophelias.”

In a room downstairs, sophomore Kelly Langtim and junior Rebecca Masur were dancing and spiritedly running through their lines.

Upstairs, sophomore Nolan Hart and junior Kerry Ipema, among other players, helped freshman Josh Burkholder get a better grasp of a song by encouraging him to hum it loudly.

Across the hall, other members of the group looked through the script and did warm-up exercises. Meanwhile, the production’s director, junior Kelly Lusk, checked into each room and provided encouragement and direction.

The University Players gives undergraduates of any major a chance to work on theatrical productions, including acting, writing, directing and production design.

“While the theater department is fantastic, they sometimes don’t provide opportunities for undergraduate students who want to work specifically in design or directing,” Lusk said. “They offer classes for them, but never the chance to work on a full-fledged production.”

The organization’s production manager, senior Chris Lee, reflects this sentiment in terms of casting as well.

“With the theater department’s productions, graduate students get most of the roles,” he said. “University Players was started to give more opportunities to undergrads.”
While the Players love the amount of creative avenues the organization provides, they are also proud that the group is primarily student-run.

“It’s fun to get to work with all students,” Langtim said. “When it’s all student-run, it’s really gratifying to get the final product out there.”

Masur agreed that the process is rewarding.

“It allows for a lot more room for creativity and personal input in the plays,” she said.
Ipema, who plays Ophelia in the upcoming production, agreed and emphasized how important the organization’s focus on small-scale productions is to a better understanding of theater.

“There’s such a stress put on large productions, but to get into the nitty-gritty, and a smaller production group is super beneficial to everyone,” Ipema said. “The set is being built by a student. A student’s directing. There’s students on the board. The core is the students.”

Literary director Ryan Gohsman said the group is also a great learning experience.

Because the Players are not funded through the University, members must come up with their own money through fundraising and sponsorships, which has taught them to sometimes find creative ways to get their plays made and shown.

While they have put on major productions like “Tommy” in venues as large as the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, it is not uncommon to see a Players show in an empty classroom, or even someone’s house.

“We don’t always have the answers,” Gohsman said. “So we sit down and ask ourselves, ‘How can we do this?’”

Lee added that it can be a learning experience for the audience, too.

“It teaches that theater is not just an experience where you buy a ticket and sit down in front of a stage,” Lee said. “It can be a lot of things.”