There are countless ways for a first-year Tufts student to get involved with on-campus theater. The student theater umbrella organization, Pen, Paint, & Pretzels, encompases everything from children's theater to musicals to miming. Perhaps the most freshman-friendly and fun production sponsored by the group is the annual first-year show.
This year's first-year production is the French comedy "Ring Round the Moon." Originally a comedia del arte written in 1947 by Jean Anouilh, the translation by Christopher Fry being performed this weekend is more of a straight comedy.
"We picked a translator who understood comedia and who could also Americanize it," explained director Lisa Goldberg, a senior.
Goldberg is the only non-freshman in the entire cast and crew of the show. The production staff has been mentored by established members of Pen, Paint, & Pretzels, but the show has essentially been pulled together entirely by first-year students.
"A freshman producer or assistant director, for example, gives the show a fresh new look, but having a senior director there to show them the ropes is good," Goldberg said. "They learn the protocol from us, but get to do it on their own."
The sense of community fostered by such a show is extremely evident on the set: The actors are all enthusiastic about the production and proud of their work.
"It's nice to work on a show like this because we're all in the same boat," freshman actress Emily Pantalone said. "It's a great way to get to know theater at Tufts in a way that isn't intimidating."
Fellow cast member Josh Glenn-Kayden, also a freshman, agreed.
"We're all learning how to put on makeup together!" he added, pointing at the confusing pile of stage makeup on the dressing-room counter while his peers around him nodded and cautiously blended foundations.
The show also offers new challenges the cast might not have encountered in high-school theater. The unique space of the Balch Arena Theater, for example, is something most have not worked with before.
The content of the show itself is also something novel for the first-years. The comedy takes place in the greenhouse of a wealthy French home during a ball, and involves a night of hidden identities, dastardly schemes and a tiara-ripping catfight.
The cast members' past experiences in theater or current involvement at Tufts are fairly diverse. Many performed in high-school productions or plan on studying theater during their college careers, but some simply enjoy the art and want to be a part of the non-academic theater community.
"The purpose of the freshman show is to build community. We want to make great theater, of course, but more than that, we want to make a community that loves theater," Goldberg said.
The first-year show is an enjoyable production for freshmen to work on and should be fun for audience members of any age. The fresh approach to theater in the round space at Balch and an all-freshman cast cast make for a new and different kind of production.
Tickets are on sale now and are available through the Balch Arena Theater box office. The show runs tonight and tomorrow night at 9 p.m., with an additional 6 p.m. showing tomorrow afternoon. Tickets are $5 with a Tufts ID.
