Theatre Students Shine in Director’s Cut

(ABILENE, Texas)–The theatre students of Hardin-Simmons brought the highly anticipated Director’s Cut series to an excited audience of students and to the Abilene community this past weekend. Through this program, theatre students have the opportunity to produce and direct their own plays, as well as gain experience that will benefit their future careers. Last weekend, Michael Kelly ’19 directed the cast and shone at the Down Center Stage Lab Theatre stage with his show, entitled “In Defense of Hope.

The Director’s Cut series is a festival that Hardin-Simmons hosts each semester since Spring 2018. The purpose is to give students a place to put their ideas into action and allow them to play with the different tasks and responsibilities that involve creating a play from scratch. Victoria Spangler, associate professor of theatre, explained that any theatre major can propose a project, and bring the work together with the help of other students.

“Maybe there is a costume design student that says, ‘I have a project that I would like to do.’ It is an opportunity for students to showcase what they learned in class,” she says.

The event is an outstanding opportunity for theatre students to build a unique experience through experience directing, producing, and performing their pieces. The focus of Director’s Cut is the process and growth that students go through while directing their play.

Kelly’s play took him one year to finish; He says it started when he took a course at McMurry University, where one of his assignment was to write the show.

“It was wonderful. This play that I wrote is an extended and edited version of a short play that I wrote and named after a different title for that class,” Kelly says.

Director’s Cut series is important for theatre students because it can inspire others to come up with a new show or drive them to involve in future performances. Kelly explained how after watching a students’ performance, he felt encouraged to write and produce “In Defense of Hope.”

“She wrote a show form an actor’s perspective. Getting to watch and experience that, me as a student, it was very much epic for me. Almost that same day was over I came to Dr. Spangler and said ‘I want to do something like this in my senior year,'” he says.

The show displays the story of two scientists who monumentally discover a viable way to alter the course of human history and legacy. This takes them out of this world, and they struggle with what decision should they make. In the meantime, two other people play an essential role, as they have to live with the consequences of the scientists’ decision. Finally, the audience discovers what decision was made and who the two individuals are.

“I realized that if I was going to pursue a career, I needed to have experience in putting on a show from the ground up. That is what this experience has been for me. I had an entire show I wrote, and that was half the battle; now taking that work and building something out of it has been just incredible,” Kelly says.