In Pen, Paint and Pretzels' (3Ps) upcoming workshop this week, one dining room and its WASP−y inhabitants will be the focus in a series of interrelated scenes. Sophomore Jonathan Hendrickson is directing the performance of A.R. Gurney's "The Dining Room," which challenges its actors to play multiple characters and personalities with the change of each scene.
The scenes in "The Dining Room" deal with a variety of aspects and confrontations of WASP culture, creating a cohesive feeling while integrating many different meanings into the play. The show's unique format is what drew Hendrickson to the play. "There's so many things you can access in this one play, more than there are in others," Hendrickson said.
The disrupted narrative provides a variety of tones, characters and meanings, forcing its actors and audiences to switch from one to the other instantaneously.
Hendrickson added that the play deals with the relationship between reputations that people put forward for others to see and the reality behind them. Despite being set in one subculture, the play's theme is universally relatable.
Also, to make sure audiences get their Gurney fix, the other 3Ps workshop this week directed by senior Corey Briskin will be Gurney's "Sylvia," a play about a stray dog whose presence heightens tensions between a young couple.
"Sylvia" is playing Tuesday, March 9, at 7 and 9:30 p.m., and "The Dining Room" will be presented on Thursday, March 11, at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Both shows are free to students and are on stage in the Balch Arena Theater.
