Tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Strother Studio Theatre, the Ball State Department of Theatre and Dance will showcase the first-ever production of "Two Character Play," an experimental piece written by New York playwright Chris White.
Assistant Director Kyle Jean Fisher, a Ball State junior, said the hour-long production is different from any other at Ball State this year because it is part of something bigger than the play itself.
"It's all being commissioned for a textbook," Fisher said.
The book, written by Ball State Associate Professor of Theatre Dr. Michael O'Hara, is being published by Allen Bacon Pearson Education, the world's largest textbook publisher, Fisher said.
"The textbook will be used for intro to theater classes across the country," Fisher said. "This play is the centerpiece for the book."
Fisher said every part of the play from the auditions, to the rehearsals, to the actual performance is being recorded for the multimedia components that will accompany the textbook.
Ball State junior J.D. Ostergaard who is filming the video components said he has been working on the production since early November.
Ostergaard, a telecommunications major, said he was given the job after O'Hara saw an eight-minute film he had done for a class.
"He said he felt like I understood and appreciated theater more than most other TCOM students," Ostergaard said.
O'Hara, who is directing "Two Character Play," said the play is based on some pretty lofty themes.
"It's deliberately theatrical," O'Hara said. "It's about the possibility of creating a community."
O'Hara said the production is experimental, a sort of workshop for crafting theater itself.
"The play is about what constitutes the nature and purpose of theater," O'Hara said. "The subject is theater."
Ball State junior Peter Hawn, who portrays Actor/Father in the play, said "Two Character Play" is a production that asks its audience many questions.
"It's a play about a play," Hawn said. "It makes the audience think about their role as an audience."
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