Eastern Theatre Student Ty Collige of Woodstock Valley Directs Play

2016 May 13

The most advanced directing students in the Theatre Department at Eastern Connecticut State University presented "Power Plays," a series of student-directed one-act plays, this spring semester. "Power Plays" was the culminating showcase for these graduating seniors.

Ty Collige '16 of Woodstock Valley, who majors in Communications and Theatre , directed "Medusa's Tale" by Carol Lashof and "The Man Who Turned Into A Stick" by Kobo Abe.

"Throughout this process I have been very grateful to have such a great cast and technical crew," said Collige. "I would also like to thank Professor Brodie as well as the staff of the entire theatre program at Eastern for the education, support and opportunities I was able to take advantage of during my college career."

"Medusa's Tale" by Carol Lashof presents the famous character of Medusa, who is normally depicted in an evil light. The play challenges audience members to look at Medusa in a way that is different from the one in which she has been historically viewed. "The biggest challenge as a director was passing on my knowledge about Greek mythology and Greek style theatre," said Collige. "Not only did the actors need to learn more about their own characters but also the relationship between each character, and with this knowledge they had to develop the character to suit themselves."

Collige also directed "The Man Who Turned Into A Stick" by Kobo Abe, which discusses the loss of individuality and the sensitive topic of suicide. "After first reading it I found that I was still thinking of the overall messages and how it pertains to our society today," said Collige. "I feel that people today have lost a sense of individuality as they have lost the ability to truly socialize without the support of technology."

He continued, "The difficultly with this play was two-fold. On a personal and emotional level, this play forced me to address how I felt about each of these topics, and furthermore, I had to have my cast discuss and confront their feelings about it as well. Our second big step was to make the characters come to life, especially characters who were not human."

"Power Plays" was the culminating project for three senior student directors. The student directors were supported by their classmates, who acted in the plays and assisted in behind the scenes tasks, such as costume work, lighting and scene design. The event was also the first production in the Studio Theater of the new Fine Arts Instructional Center.